“It is important to note that Pakistan and the United States are engaged in such an exercise which I have described as course correction, with a view to having clarity and strategic coherence,” FO spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said at a media briefing which was dominated by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s brief visit to Islamabad on Friday.
Ms Janjua’s comments, the first by the government on the crucial visit, came almost 24 hours after Ms Clinton had departed. She didn’t share any specifics about the discussions between the Pakistani civilian and military leadership and the US secretary, who was accompanied by Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
The spokesperson mostly spoke about Ms Clinton’s media comments to stress that there was a mutual realisation to move forward with the relationship.
Although the two countries were able to avert a possible break-up by agreeing to a compromise agreement to jointly tackle terrorism, there were clear signs that some of the strains persisted.
A similar impression was visible from Ms Janjua’s comments as she avoided categorically saying that misgivings had ended. She instead emphasised that Ms Clinton’s visit was neither “beginning of the process nor a culmination”.
“We are at a point of inflexion — indeed entering a new defining phase on issues of regional security, stability, particularly in working the diplomatic process for peace in Afghanistan and eliminating terrorism from this region.”
She cautioned that as the US and Pakistan “recalibrate” their policies towards each other there could be “misunderstanding and misperception”.
Therefore, her word of advice was that this wasn’t the right time to adjudge the health of the relationship.
“What we need is to focus on the larger picture and to ensure that the Pakistan-US relationship remains on track, especially in the context of fighting terrorism and on matters of regional stability,” the spokesperson added.
Both sides had agreed at the Friday talks to restart their stalled strategic dialogue by returning to preparatory work. However, no dates have been decided for the ministerial meeting on the dialogue, which will depend on how things progress over the next few weeks.
A major problem in the relationship is that both countries have a very narrow view of commonalities binding them together, which include countering terrorism and restoring peace in Afghanistan.
But Ms Janjua appeared to be convinced that the two factors were enough to keep both the US and Pakistan together. “These are the common areas of great similarity,” she said.
