WASHINGTON: US Secre-tary of State Hillary Clinton, who has pushed Pakistan hard to improve its fiscal management, said on Thursday that Islamabad's decision to reverse an unpopular fuel price increase was a "mistake".
"We have made it clear, as I did in a meeting with their ambassador, that we think it is a mistake to reverse the progress that was being made to provide a stronger economic base for Pakistan and we will continue to express that opinion," Clinton told reporters during an appearance with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara. Meanwhile, The United States signalled Thursday it opposes the Pakistani government's reversal of controversial fuel price hikes.
"What we've said all along is that the reforms that the government of Pakistan is undertaking are difficult, but they're important for its long-term economic stability," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters. "Well, that is our belief and that is our position," Toner said when asked if it was a "bad thing" for Pakistan to reverse the fuel price increases.
"Our position is that ... Pakistan needs to undertake difficult economic reforms that are going to require some pain, frankly, politically," Toner said when asked to spell out what he meant by the US position. "But beyond that, I'm not going to weigh into what is a domestic political debate in Pakistan," Toner said.
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