Osama death a shared achievement: Grossman

ISLAMABAD (PAN and United States on Tuesday pledged support for an Afghan-led reconciliation effort to bring peace, security and development to a region haunted by militancy.

After trilateral talks in Islamabad, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and US Special Representative Marc Grossman held out the pledge at a joint news conference.

With the meeting, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, the allies had lent a new impetus to their relations, Ludin said, adding that Afghanistan and Pakistan had a shared history, geography and heritage.

Both countries have a vision for peace and stability in their region, but certain challenges thwarted realisation of that goal, according to Ludin, who would not elaborate on the challenges.

The three-way process would address some of the major issues, he hoped, saying that his country had been the nerve centre of the war on terrorism for a decade. The Afghans, therefore, yearned for peace and stability, the deputy minister said.

The death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who had massacred many innocent people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States, was a huge achievement for the three countries, said US Special Representative Marc Grossman.

“The US has a long-term commitment to ending extremism and supporting progress and prosperity in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he remarked, promising cooperation with Kabul and Islamabad in making the region safer.

Issues like trade and economic integration, as well as creation of jobs, figured prominently at the meeting, Grossman said, stressing the need for early implementation of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement.

Answering a query about the Abbottabad raid, the Pakistan foreign secretary said there was no point in getting into the “forensics of the operation and who did what”. Osama was history, he said, and “we should look forward”.

mud

Visits: 3