Clinton vows US support for Pakistan’s ‘courageous’ fight

WASHINGTON: As Pakistan pushed its battle against militant stronghold in South Waziristan amid continuing retaliatory terrorist attacks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced US solidarity and support for the nation’s ‘courageous’ anti-terror fight.

Speaking at US Institute of Peace, Clinton also noted that the recent terrorist attacks against government and military targets do not pose a threat to Pakistan’s nuclear command and control or access.

‘We don’t think that those attacks pose a threat to the nuclear command and control or access.’

‘We have been reassured about the security of the nuclear weapons stockpiles and facilities. But it is obviously a matter that we are watching very closely,’ she said in reply to a question about nuclear safety and the threat of proliferation in the wake of last week’s deadly attacks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Washington, she said, remains in touch with Islamabad over these issues.

Clinton’s remarks came as Pakistanis braved an unprecedented wave of terrorist bombings to fight a high-stakes battle against militants in the tribal area of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, where the US-led forces are struggling to contain an expanding Taliban insurgency.

‘We are supporting the Pakistani Government in their courageous efforts against these extremists, which, to us, is one of the most important steps they can take to make sure that these questions that you raise are going to be answered satisfactorily.’
In answer to another question, the top US diplomat said the Obama Administration saw the ultimate passage of the $7.5 billion five-year economic assistance package, called Kerry Lugar Bill, as a ‘great milestone in our relationship.’


‘I believe we have gone a long way in answering and putting to rest a lot of those misperceptions. As you know, Foreign Minister (Shah Mahmood) Qureshi made a special trip here last week and met with members of Congress, certainly Senator (John) Kerry and Congressman (Howard) Berman and others, to make clear what the intent of the legislation was. And on his recent trip in the region, Senator Kerry, in between helping us very significantly answer concerns raised in Afghanistan, made a trip to Islamabad where he reiterated our approach.’


Clinton said the US will try to do a good public diplomacy job in responding to misperceptions about its position on various issues and underlined that the ‘United States is hoping to be a good partner for not just the Government of Pakistan, but more importantly, the people of Pakistan.’—APP