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Relations with US under stress for three months, admits Aziz
[DAWN] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz  ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in goodjihadis and badjihadis as a matter of national policy... conceded on Thursday that relations with the US had been under stress for the past three months because of conditions Washington had attached to the funding of F-16s sale. The confession was made by the adviser while winding up a debate in the Senate on an adjournment motion on the US decision to withdraw proposed subsidy on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistain. The adviser said that Pakistain-US relations had come to a standstill in 2011 because of unfortunate incidents of WikiLeaks, Raymond Davis, Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... operation, Datta Khel and Salala. Since 2013, he said Pakistain’s relations with the US had witnessed an "upward trajectory". "In the past three months, however, this upward trajectory in relations has witnessed a downward slide, as reflected in a decision of the US Congress to block partial funding for eight F-16 aircraft," he said. Mr Aziz said that the US action might have been caused by concerns raised by Washington on the nuclear issue which had been categorically rejected by Pakistain. Haqqani network still top US concern "We have also rejected frequent demands, especially by the US Congress, for the release of Dr Shakil Afridi. The US officials, Congress, think-tanks and media, in tandem with our adversaries, have also been blaming Pakistain for supporting the Haqqani network without giving any concrete evidence to enable us to take additional action against it or other terrorist organizations," he added. However, a woman is only as old as she admits... Mr Aziz said, the Haqqani Network issue remained the top US concern at the moment. The Indian lobby in the US, he said, had also been highly pro-active in adding fuel to the fire, especially after the Pathankot incident. Posted by: Fred 2016-05-13 |
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