Pak Civil And Military Leaders

I read news in "Daily Times" with the title of " Pak civil, military leaders on same page: Kerry

I share with you this conversation in own words of daily times.

* US senator has ‘positive’ meetings with civil, military leadership
* Don’t play to cheap galleries
* US not forcing Pakistan to take money

ISLAMABAD: “As of today, it seems to me that the Pakistani leadership, civil and military”, is on the same page, said Senator John Kerry in a select briefing in Islamabad with six senior journalists. He was asked whether the Kerry-Lugar Bill and its subsequent clarification had found acceptance in the power centres of Pakistan.

Senator Kerry was on a brief visit to Pakistan because he was “concerned that a straight forward effort has been misinterpreted”. He said that the US’ statement of clarification on the KLB “could not be clearer”. He cautioned that “we should not play to cheap galleries here”. He aslo said, “if you don’t want the money, say so. We’re not forcing you to take it”.

Senator Kerry said that his meetings with civilian and military leaders had been “very positive”.

The senator was returning to the US embassy from a “brief lunch” with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif. Senator Kerry said that Mr Sharif had asked for “further clarification” on some points but that the senator did not see that as a problem and the meeting was “very positive”.

He used the same words for his meetings with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani and ISI Director General Gen Shuja Pasha.

One journalist referred to a lead story in a national daily according to which the US had pulled out its forces from Afghanistan border posts near South Waziristan, making it easy for Taliban to cross over into Afghanistan and thus subvert the Pakistan Army’s Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Senator Kerry said he had heard no such thing. When asked if Generals Kayani or Pasha had raised the presumed removal of US border forces as an issue, Senator Kerry categorically said “they had not”.

He further explained that he was a friend of Pakistan and that is why he had worked long and hard to put together this assistance for “the people of Pakistan”.

He said that this was a difficult time for the US economy and when allocating taxpayers’ money to foreign countries, lawmakers have to be satisfied about its usages. He said this was particularly true in the case of Pakistan where in the past American money had been allocated by Pakistani governments for purposes for which it was not meant.

He was asked questions to clarify the wording with regard to caveats associated with spending the KLB money on Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Senator Kerry said that those caveats were to make sure that Pakistan did not spend this money on purposes for which it is not intended, like arming to “fight wars with India”.

Senator Kerry’s body language was weary and disappointed, although he was careful not to use such negative words. He simply said that he was in Pakistan to clarify his intention to help Pakistanis and he was “concerned” that those not be misconstrued.

He finished on a light note by saying that he had “never had so much difficulty in trying to give away $ 7.5 billion”. The unsaid subtext of Senator Kerry’s presentation was: take it or leave it.

He said in these difficult times, Americans wanted to know why so much money was being given to Pakistan when “we need it badly in California or Oklahoma or other parts of the US”.