Rice will highlight Pakistan’s role in war on terror
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 10: The United States has said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will highlight Washington’s long-standing engagement with Pakistan when she arrives there as part of a six-nation tour beginning next week.
This is for the third time this week that the United States has expressed unequivocal support for the government of Pakistan, quashing media speculations that Washington was reviewing its policies towards Islamabad.
The supporting statements for Pakistan began on Monday when White House spokesman Scott McClellan told a briefing in Washington that Pakistan was among the nations who were actively fighting terrorism.
They are continuing to stay on the offensive against the Taliban and Al Qaeda that operate in the tribal area, he said.
The next day, President George W. Bush declared that Pakistan had made the United States “more secure” by arresting over 100 extremists across the country.
Following this unprecedented declaration of support for Pakistan from the head of the state, the US State Department said on Wednesday Ms Rice’s visit to Islamabad was intended to convey Washington’s “long-term engagement with Pakistan”.
In a statement issued in Washington, spokesman Richard Boucher said that nuclear proliferation and the war on terror are expected to top the agenda for Ms Rice when she visits six Asian nations next week on her first tour of the region as US secretary of state.
She would visit India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, and China from March 14-21.
In another briefing on Wednesday afternoon, State Department’s deputy spokesman Adam Ereli commended Pakistan and India for continuing the peace process.
Indicating that the United States has stayed engagement with the two South Asian nations to encourage them to continue the process, Mr Ereli said: “It also proves as to what could be accomplished when you listen to friends.”
He said the leaders of India and Pakistan had demonstrated their commitment to peace and stability by taking courageous steps to move forward the process.
Mr Ereli recalled that only three years ago, India and Pakistan came close to a nuclear conflict when they deployed hundreds of thousands of additional troops on their border. From confrontation, they have come to friendly gestures, he added.
