Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif told the Senate that Pakistan will neither surrender to the US nor compromise on its sovereignty.Giving a policy statement, he said the US has failed in Afghanistan militarily. Therefore Pakistani side in the Tuesday meeting with US team, headed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, urged them to find a political solution to the Afghan mess. Pakistani leadership has conveyed to the US that the country was ready to play its part for peace in the region but “we will not become their proxy”. According to report, the foreign minister also said that Pakistan has made it crystal clear to the US that any effort to give so-called stabilisation role to India was simply unacceptable. Khwaja Asif said no specific “wish list” has been given to Pakistan; however, the US has given a list of 75 wanted terrorists and pressed Islamabad for going tough on Haqqani network.
He said that JuD chief was neither on that list nor US secretary of state mentioned him during the talks.The minister said that the meeting with Tillerson took place in a very cordial atmosphere and that attitude of Pakistani leadership was not apologetic at all.
The minister said unlike the past, the present government had neither surrendered, nor succumbed to any pressure after the controversial August 21 speech of US President Donald Trump.About the list given by the US, Asif said that Haqqanis were on top of the list and there was no Pakistani among the wanted militants. The list even did not say that these wanted terrorists were taking refuge in Pakistan. Asif further informed that some of those on the list were dead while others were taking refuge in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan and Afghanistan had also exchanged lists of wanted terrorists. Khawaja Asif said that Taliban and ISIS control almost 45 percent area of Afghanistan where they have shadow governors, which is enough for them to plan and execute terrorist activities there and that they do not need Pakistani territory of it. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has given comprehensive briefing in senate session and adopted bold stance regarding Pak-Us relations. Pakistan needs to adopt transparent foreign policy as indoor compromises have rendered great loss to Pakistan. The foreign policy should be formed after thorough deliberations by putting all stakeholders on board. It is the high time that Pakistan should learn lesson from the past and adopt a proactive foreign policy based on mutual interests and equal footings.
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