Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday said it was
"imperative" for the world community to support its efforts to
reach out to Afghanistan and India to create an environment
that will usher in stability and development in the region.
Reacting to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
recent remarks, Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua
said: "Pakistan has reached out to both Afghanistan and India
to promote an environment conducive to stability and
development. It is imperative that the international community
support this endeavour."
She added that it was "Pakistan's considered view that
stability, peace and development in the South Asian region is
not only important for Pakistan but has global ramifications".
Pakistan "values its relations with the US" and is
"cognizant of the need for greater strategic coherence,
especially when a large number of NATO-ISAF troops and the
international community?are engaged on issues germane to
Afghanistan", Janjua said in a statement.
The spokesperson, who was reacting to Clinton's
remarks at the launch of the Asia Society's series of Richard
Holbrooke memorial addresses on Friday, lauded the Secretary
of State's call to respect the principles of non-interference
and non-intervention in Afghanistan.
"The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of
Afghanistan must also be fully respected," she said.
Janjua also said Pakistan welcomed Clinton's
announcement on the appointment of Marc Grossman as the new US
Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During her speech, Clinton said the tribal areas along
the Afghanistan-Pakistan border "remain the epicentre of
violent extremism that threatens Americans and peace-loving
people everywhere".
She said the "historic distrust between Pakistan and
Afghanistan remains a major cause of regional instability".
While calling on Pakistan to take "decisive steps to
ensure that the Afghan Taliban cannot continue to conduct the
insurgency from Pakistani territory", Clinton said pressure
from Pakistan "will help push the Taliban toward the
negotiating table and away from Al Qaida".
Pakistan will have to be part of the process for
reconciliation in Afghanistan to succeed, Clinton said.
"(Pakistan) will have to respect Afghan sovereignty
and work with Afghanistan to improve regional stability," she
said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 16:23