Describing the response to her candid engagement with the Pakistani civil society as "overwhelmingly positive," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the US is building a strong base for ties between the two nations.
She also made a subtle contrast of her frank discussions on mutual security concerns in Pakistan with the one-sided tone of the former US Administration, that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks sought to pursue relations on "with us or against us" basis.
"The reaction that I got in Pakistan was overwhelmingly positive and I've been reading a lot of the flogging and the reaction on the press in part because they're not used to anyone from the United States Government coming and opening herself to their concerns," Clinton told National Public Radio travelling in Cairo.
"They (the Pakistanis)'re just used to saying to having somebody say, take it or leave it, with us or against us, go forward or not. And so I think we're building a stronger base for our relationship," she noted recounting her talks in Pakistan, which was the first stop of her ambitious nine-day trip to the broader Middle Eastern region.
Hillary Clinton also argued that her remarks on Pakistanis not being able to know about al Qaeda leaders whereabouts were not meant to cast a doubt on the Pakistani government's anti-terror commitment but were part of an open conversation she was trying to have with the Pakistani people about each other's concerns.
"No, not at all, no. I mean, as you saw, the whole purpose of my trip was to try to clear the air with the Pakistani people and government, to reassert our support for Pakistan, particularly in this very difficult conflict they're engaged in with the Taliban, and to listen and absorb all the criticisms they have. "They had this sort of pent-up frustration with the United States. And as you know and as you saw, I listened and understand and tried to convey understanding of all of their questions about our policy, going back years.
"But at the same time, I wanted to stress that we're looking for a partnership, and they have to listen to our concerns as well as we listen to their concerns." "I feel strongly that as we move forward in these very complex areas that pose real concerns to our national security, concerns to partners like Pakistan's security, that it is important to make clear to the people not just the leaders that we have to speak openly with each other."