Pakistan FM tells Washington audience US aid crucial, calls for stronger talks on Afghanistan

August 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - An expert on South and Central Asia has welcomed the holding of the second presidential elections in Afghanistan, saying it is an important sign-if not of progress, not only for Afghanistan, but also for Pakistan and the United States. According to Daniel Markey of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), in the near term, interested parties can hope for less disruption and propaganda, some changes in terms of political leadership that will ultimately work well.

July 21st, 2009 US diplomat to hold talks in Pakistan, AfghanistanWASHINGTON — The Obama administration's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan is traveling to those countries this week for talks. State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters that Richard Holbrooke will be in Islamabad from Tuesday through Thursday.

May 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States considers the next 12 to 18 months as critical to the success of its revamped AFPAK policy. Addressing an off the record briefing, in which the briefer is not identified, a top US military official said the next year and half would crucial for the US led 'war on terror' against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stating that India has a crucial role to play in rebuilding Afghanistan, a former top US official has said it would be a 'major mistake' to prevent New Delhi from contributing to the development of the war-ravaged country at the insistence of Pakistan. 'I don't think we can afford to turn down assistance from great countries like India.

May 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has once again clarified to Pakistan that it would have to counter the expanding writ of the Taliban effectively, and be very specific about what it wants to achieve in the fight against terror, as the "era of lip service was over". Talking to media persons on the sidelines of her meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said all the countries should be very specific in working out their plans to counter the terror threat.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan and Afghanistan Wednesday promised to work together to defeat the 'common threat' in their countries as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for an 'all government effort' to bring peace to the region. 'We all have a responsibility along with two governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to restore the peace in their respective countries,' Clinton said as she opened three-way talks with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

May 6th, 2009 Clinton kicks off Afghan-Pakistan talksWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is kicking off two days of Obama administration talks with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to prod them to step up efforts against the Taliban and other extremists. Clinton is meeting separately and together at the State Department with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and then Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (AH'-seef ah-LEE' zahr-DAH'-ree).

May 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States is hoping that the forthcoming trilateral talks with Pakistan and Afghanistan will help in improving ties between the countries, specially between neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Briefing media persons about the issues which would be discussed during the three day long summit, White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs said that besides the trilateral talks, President Obama would also hold separate talks with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has invited his counterparts from Pakistan and Afghanistan, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai, to discuss the 'Af-Pak' policy here next month, a media report said Tuesday. The May 6-7 talks will elevate to summit level a trilateral exchange begun by the administration with senior aides from each government in late February, the Washington Post reported.

April 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The US Wednesday sought a greater role for India in Afghanistan, at the same time saying it wouldn't pressurise New Delhi on its ties with Pakistan. 'What happens in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday said Al-Qaeda is 'actively planning' attacks on US from safe havens in Pakistan.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Friday announced his long-awaited new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying the situation in Afghanistan has become 'increasingly perilous'. Obama said that Afghanistan could not be allowed to come under the control of the Taliban or the Al Qaeda, which he said, was plotting new attacks on the United States from safe havens in Pakistan.

March 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - British Defense Minister John Hutton has said that the key to success in the 'War on terror' in Afghanistan lies in rooting out the command and control centers of Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups operating from Pakistan. Talking to media persons before meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert M.

March 5th, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for terrorists in Pakistan 'to be brought under control, arrested and brought to trial'. Speaking after Tuesday's terrorist attack wounding six Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Brown also revealed that the 'vast majority' of Al Qaeda militants are now in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.

January 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Even as Pakistan has become 'ground zero for the terrorist threat', an influential US senator has advocated support for Islamabad and helping it and India to return to bilateral peace talks disrupted by the Mumbai attacks. 'As America's second post-9/11 President takes office, a single country has become ground zero for the terrorist threat we face,' said John Kerry, the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman in an Op-Ed piece in the Washington Times Friday.