Nawaz in Washington for tough talks

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif arrived here on Sunday for what diplomatic sources termed “serious talks on hard issues” with President Barack Obama and to seek a boost in trade with the US, as his four-and-a-half-month old government strives to turn around Pakistan’s shattered economy. The emerging regional scenario with the US-led Nato forces set to pull out from Afghanistan by 2014-end and ways to promote a political solution to the over decade long war there are expected to be at the center of the summit meeting scheduled for Wednesday at the White House. Sharif has said he will also discuss the issue of drone attacks inside Pakistan, which he had earlier raised last month in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, calling for a halt to continued violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. The prime minister is accompanied by wife Mrs. Kulsoom Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Special Assistant Tariq Fatmi, while Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani joined the entourage in Washington. Nawaz along with the delegation flew in on a special plane after a stopover in London, on his first official visit to the US after assuming the office in June, at the in vitiation of President Obama. In a significant gesture ahead of the visit, the US government released to Pakistan an amount of $322 million from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF). The prime minister is expected to seek greater access to the US market for Pakistan in order to support through trade his government’s top priority economic revival agenda, according to sources in the delegation.He will brief the US leader on his plan to hold peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban in a bid to end terrorism, which major political parties of the country have unanimously backed. The sources said Islamabad sees drone campaign as counter-productive and also as a hurdle to the dialogue initiative and the prime minister may stress this point during the talks, besides reassuring the Americans of sustained support to the Afghan reconciliation process. Hours before Nawaz arrival here, a senior US administration official said: “We would like to hear from the Pakistan prime minister” about the planned dialogue with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pointing out that proposed talks were yet to take place and other details remained unclear, the official said the administration would be helping the country in its efforts to restore stability to the tribal region. The official described the visit of the Pakistani prime minister as a “historic event” following “historic transfer of power from one civilian government to another.” He underscored “deep US interest” in seeing Pakistan achieving security and “vibrant economy”, and said a whole range of bilateral matters would be discussed including the country’s 3-E policy aimed at tackling problems related to energy, education, extremism. The official, in reply to a question, noted that Pakistan and US had different perspectives on militancy, the former viewing in the context of TTP and the latter in relation to also the Al Qaeda and Haqqani network sanctuaries in a part of the tribal territory. But, he said, militancy and cross-border terrorism were a “common enemy” and it was necessary to follow a common strategy to fight this enemy.To a question about Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline agreement, the official said the US was clear about sanctions on transactions with Iran under the US law. Responding to a question about Kashmir dispute, the official reiterated the US commitment to encouraging both Pakistan and India to resolve their disputes through dialogue bilaterally. ‘We are encouraging both countries and their leaders” to pursue the dialogue path,” he said, adding that the US was also concerned about “presence of terrorist groups who pose threat to peace process between the two counties.” According to the announced schedule of engagements, the prime minister will meet with the US trade representatives on Monday followed by an address to the Pakistan-American Business Council and a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. He will also address the Pakistani community in Washington. On Tuesday, Sharif will meet with US media editors, address the US Institute of Peace and have a meeting with a delegation of US Congress leadership.On Wednesday, the prime minister will have a breakfast meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden before holding talks with President Obama and later depart for London.