WASHINGTON, June 15: The US State Department has dismissed as ‘incorrect’ media reports which suggested that US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State
Richard Boucher are in Pakistan with a draft of a powersharing agreement between President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
“The Pakistani people are more than capable of resolving any political differences they may have, striking any political bargains,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Friday when asked if the top US officials were mediating between Gen Musharraf and Ms Bhutto.
“They don’t need our help to do so.”
About Mr Negroponte’s visit, he said that besides President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat he would meet civil society representatives. The department used the same term for describing the meetings Mr Boucher had with opposition politicians in Islamabad recently.
Another State Department official told Dawn that Mr Negroponte had not visited Islamabad since assuming the office of deputy secretary in February 2007.
“He had the opportunity to do it this time,” said the official when asked what brought two senior US officials to Islamabad.
“It is one in a series of regular high-level meetings between the two countries.”
The official said the agenda for bilateral talks included a range of cooperation issues, education, counter-terrorism, development of the frontier area and economic opportunities.
It is understood that the US was not delivering any specific message to the government of Pakistan and had not planned for two senior diplomats to be present in Islamabad at the same time. It was just a coincidence.
Diplomatic sources in Washington, when asked to comment on the US-Pakistan meetings in Islamabad, said the main item on the agenda was the situation along the Pak-Afghan border.
They said Washington acknowledged that the situation had improved but wanted Pakistan to continue its pressure on pro-Taliban elements to frustrate their plans to reassemble for future attacks.
“There will be talks on the domestic situation too,” said a diplomatic source aware of the US-Pakistan dialogue process. “Although, it is not on the agenda, it will be discussed.”
