India may have to rethink on Pakistan policy: Foreign Minister Qureshi

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said in Washington he is confident that India will have to revisit its Pak-policy soon.

He was apparently referring to India’s stand that it won’t resume composite dialogue with Pakistan until Islamabad takes concrete action against all those who are responsible for terror attacks in the country.

“I am of the view that Pakistan has been willing to engage, and I am confident as -- you know, two years down the line, I am confident of this relationship“. Qureshi was talking to reporters at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

He was responding to questions at a joint press conference with his US counterpart, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, following the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue. “You see, in the discussions that we have had, we underscored the importance of reviving the bilateral track. The last few years, the bilateral track was subsumed because of the Afghan situation understandably so“.

“We have now refocused on the bilateral track, and that means that our relationship goes beyond Afghanistan. And it has been discussed that the long-term US interests lie east of Afghanistan. That is to be understood,” he said.

"Today, I am a happy man and a satisfied man," he said in his opening remarks at the press conference where Hillary Clinton termed the Pakistan's request for a civilian nuclear deal as "complicated issue" and ruled out any mediatory role for the US in resolving Indo-Pak issues.

“As far as India is concerned, you know, they are a sovereign country, and they have bilateral relations (with the US). We respect that. But all we are saying that those relations should not be at the cost of Pakistan, and we are very clear and I think you’re (Clinton) very clear on that,” the Foreign Minister said.

Earlier, Qureshi claimed there has been a complete change in perception about Pakistan in the US -- both among the lawmakers and the officials. “The other thing, the civil-military relations today in Pakistan are excellent. The fact, that the Army Chief is part of the delegation that is here, the fact that we were sitting on the same table, arguing, articulating Pakistan’s case, is unheard of in the past,” Qureshi argued. Qureshi said the Obama Administration has agreed to give the Reconstruction Opportunity Zone legislation a priority, which would result in duty free export of goods manufactured in designated areas to the US.

A $125 million energy sector aid and a slew of social sector projects that will bring Pakistan unspecified millions more was Washington's cautious first response to Islamabad's demand for a civilian nuclear deal and a bill for $35 billion it says it has incurred in the war on terror.

"We’re committed to helping Pakistan meet its real energy needs, “ Hillary Clinton emphasized adding those real energy needs do not involve going down the nuclear route. She followed that up by saying the two sides are moving forward with $125 million to Pakistan for energy sector projects, an assistance program she announced in Pakistan last October. In addition, she disclosed that USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, the top-ranking Indian-American in the Obama administration, will sign "implementation agreements for three thermal power station rehabilitation projects" with Pakistan.

On Pakistan’s bid to involve the US in Indo-Pak disputes, Hillary Clinton said: "I think it's important to recognize that the United States has positive relationships with both Pakistan and India... we can’t dictate Pakistani foreign policy or Indian foreign policy," she said. "But we can encourage, as we do, the in-depth discussion between both countries that we think would benefit each of them with respect to security and development."

- Asian Tribune -