US expands contacts with Pakistani leaders
“There were some additional contacts,” said the department’s deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid. “The United States is continuing our dialogue with the main actors, the political figures in Pakistan.”
The United States has also been in touch with Britain on this subject, he added.
He refused to give “a detailed readout of those conversations” but other State Department officials said the contacts reflected Washington’s desire to prevent a government-opposition collision, as it could adversely affect the US-led war against terrorism.
According to Mr Duguid, US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, has had a series of conversations with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
He also spoke with former prime minister and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, at least once.
“I don’t have details for you,” said Mr Duguid when asked if Ambassador Holbrooke had further contacted the leaders in Pakistan after the initial phone calls. But diplomatic sources in Washington said Mr Holbrooke had spoken “more than once” with each of the key players since Wednesday.
These talks were supplemented by the US ambassador in Islamabad, Anne Patterson who, Mr Duguid said, had met the Sharif brothers just outside Lahore earlier this week. Then she had follow-up meetings and phone calls with senior government and opposition political leaders on Thursday.
US officials are refusing to say if the Americans have offered a deal or a formula for resolving the Sharif-Zardari imbroglio, although they confirmed that the United States wanted the two leaders to end their dispute peacefully, and as soon as possible.
Diplomatic circles in Washington, however, say that the Americans are upset with the Pakistani government for starting an “unnecessary crisis”.
Tags:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
