US Senator John Kerry arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for talks with Pakistani leaders at what he earlier warned was a "critical moment" for relations after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
He landed two days after parliament insisted there must be no repeat of the secret commando operation that killed bin Laden and said US drone strikes targeting extremists on its territory must end.
The first senior US visitor since the al Qaeda kingpin's death, Kerry was to meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua told AFP, to discuss "bilateral relations and regional issues". Senator Kerry has arrived for talks with the senior Pakistani leadership," US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez told AFP. According to latest reports, Senator Kerry met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the General
Headquarters late Sunday night.
According to a statement, Kerry and General Kayani discussed matters of mutual interest. In the Afghan capital Kabul before travelling to Pakistan, Kerry told reporters on Sunday that US relations with its nuclear-armed ally were at a "critical moment".
He said he was he was ready to listen to Pakistan's leaders but the discovery of the al Qaeda chief living close to Islamabad meant talks had to "resolve some very serious issues". "We need to find a way to march forward if it is possible. If it is not possible, there are a set of downside consequences that can be profound," said Kerry, whose trip to the region has been endorsed by President Barack Obama.
Kerry, chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also repeated Washington's belief that the Pakistani authorities know where Taliban safe havens harbouring the leaders of Afghanistan's insurgency are located.
"There is some evidence of Pakistan government knowledge of some of these activities in ways that is very disturbing," he told reporters in Kabul, adding that he would raise the long-standing issue in Islamabad.
But Kerry also sought to dampen the diplomatic fallout from the bin Laden raid, which severely strained ties with the US and stirred renewed anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. "It's important to try also to not allow the passions of a moment to cloud over the larger goal that is in both of our interests," he said in reference to efforts to combat militancy.
Senator Kerry said in Kabul he will press Pakistani leaders for answers on Osama bin Laden in talks. Kerry said he would hold a series of "important discussions" in Islamabad today (Monday). "It is fair to say that some of my colleagues in the House and Senate have deep reservations as to whether or not Pakistan is committed to the same goals or prepared to be a full partner in pursuing those goals," Kerry told reporters.
Kerry said if there is no "improvement in the current situation" it will become increasingly difficult to convince people at home of the need to give aid to Pakistan. Kerry said Pakistan was also a victim of "terrorism" and that the death of bin Laden provided a critical chance to move forward. "This is not a moment for anything but very sober and serious discussion with an understanding that there is a lot at stake. There is no other way to put it. I think they understand that, we understand that," he said.
Asked if the United States would conduct a similar raid inside Pakistan to kill Mulla Omar, the reclusive leader of the Afghan Taliban, Kerry said Washington would consider all options.
News International (Rawalpindi), May 16, 2011, http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=6009&Cat=13&dt=5/16/2011
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