Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday hinted at resumption of Nato supply route and move beyond the Salala incident to improve ties with the US. Speaking at a news conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira to update the media on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani recent UK visit, the Foreign Minister first tried to skip media queries regarding Nato supply issue, however, when pressed she said the issue was not just about the relations with the US but with 42 countries that have stakes in Afghanistan.
"We should not see it (Nato supply) in the context of the Pak-US relations but with 42 countries that have stakes in Afghanistan," she said, adding that there were also countries like UK, Turkey, Malaysia and Japan that were engaged in Afghanistan. She said that for almost last 10 years sine 2001, Pakistan charged not a single penny for use of its infrastructure for transit of Nato goods to Afghanistan and paid a huge cost in the form of road network along with security repercussions.
She said that Pakistan and the international community have same objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan, adding that Pakistan wants to continue as a facilitator. Though she said there was no element of coercion as Pakistan has choices, however, emphasised that it (Pakistan) wants to be a facilitator and enabler for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Her comments came after she attended a high-level meeting at Presidency jointly chaired by Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari, and participated by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, DG ISI Lieutenant General Zaheer-ul-Islam, Finance Secretary Wajid Rana, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar. Sources said that the meeting discussed the resumption of Nato supply route and Pakistan's possible participation in the upcoming Chicago summit.
To a question about repercussions of Nato supply as Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) has warned to physically stop any such move, Khar said that the supply was shut down not on the directives of the DPC, adding that the country has a democratically elected parliament.
When asked whether Pakistan revisits its demand of seeking apology from the US prior to resumption of Nato supply, she said that the parliament has recommended the government to seek an apology from the US over killing of 24 of its soldiers and "the government has conveyed it in an articulate manner to Washington".
About the state of relationship with the US, she said that Pakistan was holding negotiations with the US and Nato on the same terms that have been approved by the parliament for the process of re-engagement. She said that there were issues on which the two countries have same position while on others they were moving towards narrowing the differences. She said both sides believe that currently they were discussing things in a positive atmosphere to resolve issues.
To a question about US drone strikes, Kaira said that Pakistan's position on drone attacks was clear that "these are counter-productive and must be stopped". He said safeguarding of the country's sovereignty was the top priority of the government. He said that the issue of Nato supply was currently under discussion and the situation would become clear in coming three to fours days.
The information minister strongly defended the Prime Minister's recent UK visit saying the trip led to 'fruitful' interaction at parliamentary, executive and royalty levels. However, he regretted that some sections of the media portrayed the visit in a negative manner especially in the context of the size of the entourage. He clarified that only 12 parliamentarians including relevant ministers accompanied the Prime Minister during his visit besides 16 media persons.
About the criteria of selecting newsmen for the PM's foreign trip, he said the government usually asked the editors of the media organisations to nominate their correspondent. He, however, admitted that mistakes were committed some times. Earlier, Foreign Minister described the PM's UK visit as "very successful" and productive, saying that the primary purpose of the visit was to reaffirm the partnership and take it to the next level by conducting the first Summit-level annual review of the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue (ESD) between Pakistan and the UK.
She said that the PM had extensive and constructive discussions with Prime Minister Cameron on the core issues, adding that they also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including the peace and stability in Afghanistan.
She said that the most substantive outcomes of the summit-level annual review of the ESD was the joint launching of two roadmaps by Prime Minister Gilani and Prime Minister Cameron; ie "Trade and Investment Roadmap" and "the Roadmap on Cultural and educational exchange".
She said that the Trade and Investment Roadmap envisage increasing bilateral trade to £ 2.5 billion by 2015. To kick-start the roadmap, she said that Prime Minister Gilani met select businessmen and investors both at the London Stock Exchange and at the Standard Chartered Bank.
Khar said that the Prime Minster had also useful interactions with a range of other British leaders, including the Opposition Leader Edward Miliband as well as UK Cabinet members including the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Trade & Investment, Development, Interior, and Energy.
The Cultural & Educational exchange roadmap seeks to deepen and advance the people to people relationship between the two countries, she added. The UK has committed almost £ 1.4 billion over four years (2011-2015), with a large share of this investment in primary education in Pakistan.