September 24, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 11, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 23: The Bush administration has assured Islamabad that it will issue the required certification for Pakistan to continue to receive US aid, says Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani.

Briefing Pakistani journalists on the second round of US-Pakistan strategic partnership talks held in Islamabad last week, the ambassador said that any political change in Washington would not affect the US aid.

The opposition Democrats are widely expected to win the 2008 presidential elections in the United States, causing some to speculate that it may affect Washington’s relations with Islamabad.

Democrat lawmakers played a key role in adding a Pakistan-specific clause to an anti-terrorism bill in the US Congress, which links the US aid to an annual certification from the White House saying that it is satisfied with Pakistan’s performance in the war against terror.

President Bush signed the bill into law on Aug 3.

Recently, Democratic presidential candidates have also been very critical of Pakistan and some have even suggesting invading the country’s tribal belt for destroying alleged Al Qaeda hideouts.

Ambassador Durrani said that Pakistan raised all the issues during the strategic dialogue in Islamabad and was assured that the US desire to have a close relationship with Pakistan was not confined to a particular political party.

“As a candidate you can say anything you want but when it comes to making policies, you are faced with realities,” the ambassador said.

“And the reality is that Pakistan is too important a country to be ignored. Whether there’s a Republican or a Democrat in the White House, it will not affect bilateral relations.”

Still, he said, Islamabad does not like the Pakistan-specific clause in the 9/11 commission act of 2007 and has conveyed its feelings to its American allies. Pakistan is also unhappy with the US national intelligence estimate which claims that Al Qaeda has established safe havens in the tribal area, he added.

Mr Durrani said that while the Taliban and Al Qaeda may have pockets of support in the tribal belt, “there is no safe haven.”

During the strategic talks, he said, the Pakistani side also raised the issue of visa problems that Pakistani students, businessmen and visitors face while coming to the United States.The Americans assured Pakistan that they would expedite the process, he added.