Appearing from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad & Quetta

Monday, November 2, 2009, Zhul-Q'ada 13, 1430

US in dialogue with Afghan Taliban
Seeks Pak, Saudi support; Islamabad, Washington have trust deficit: Clinton

Staff Reporter

Islamabad—The United States has decided to initiate dialogue with Afghan Taliban, and requested Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for their support in dialogue process, sources said.

Diplomatic sources said that the US has decided to dialogue with Taliban in Afghanistan.

Main commander and Naib Amir Mullah Akhund from Taliban side is taking part in dialogue process with the US.

Source said Mullah Akhund has made it clear to US for not creating rift among the Taliban on the basis of money.

He also asked the US to take its forces out of Afghanistan as soon as possible so that government as per with the wishes of Afghan people could be formed.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has conceded that Pakistan and the US have trust deficit but said that trust had to go both ways.

In an interview with ABC TV she said Taliban were a threat for entire world and not just for Pakistan, Afghanistan. Pakistan cannot be completely safe unless Taliban are completely uprooted, she added. Clinton praised Pakistan army’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism, adding that she didn’t believe Pakistani government was protecting terrorists.

She said before the visit she knew that there was a lot of mistrust of the United States, of our intentions and our actions coming out of the last eight years that could not been erased overnight.

Yet she believed that the relationship between our two countries is so critical - it’s critical for each of our security, it’s critical for our long-term strategic possibilities. She said she answered all kinds of questions from the Pakistani press and the Pakistani public about their concerns, their fears about what we are up to.

She said the US applauds Pakistani resolve for going after the Taliban in Swat successfully ad now going after them in South Waziristan.

“This is an incredibly important campaign, and the military sacrifice and the democratic government support is making a big difference”. Clinton said Pakistan Taliban are part of a terrorist syndicate that is directed, funded, inspired by al-Qaida and it will not be sufficient to achieve the level of security the Pakistanis deserve if they don’t go after those who are still threatening not only Pakistan, but Afghanistan and the rest of the world. She said that the US wanted to put that on the table, and they did it.

To a question that in her opinion whether the Pakistani government was harboring terrorists or it was not aggressive in seeking them out, Secretary of State said she don’t think so.They have gone after the enemies who most directly threaten them but it would be a missed opportunity and a lack of recognition of the full extent of the threat if Pakistan did not realize that any safe haven anywhere for terrorists threatens it, threatens America, and has to be addressed. About US public image in Pakistan, she said she got out to public to listen their feelings and attitudes that had been built up toward US.

“No American official had ever come and listened to them like this.” “I have acknowledged that we’ve made mistakes, and I have no problem acknowledging that. The US want to move beyond that to have the kind of civilian and military, development and security relationship that we want to have unless we clear the air.”

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