Terrorists common enemy of Pak, US: Kerry tells Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, on Monday said that terrorists were the common enemies of Pakistan and the United States.
The visiting US Secretary of State met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here at the PM House and assured him that Washington would continue its support in the battle against terrorists.
The prime minister conveyed Pakistan’s concern to the US about the unprovoked Indian aggression across the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary in the recent months as aggressive Indian posturing could undermine Pakistan’s struggle to wipe out terrorism.
He expressed gratitude for the generous interest by US firms in investing in major energy producing Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu dams.
Kerry will have several meeting, including one Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. He was received at the airport by Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. The US secretary, who arrived in the federal capital after visiting India, is expected to brief the political and military leadership about the Indian position on the regional issues especially the tension on the LoC and Working Boundary. One part of the talks will focus on the sharing of intelligence reports and evidence of Indian involvement in subversive activities across Pakistan. The evidence is alleged to credibly identify financial support, training and provision of weapons to terrorists.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz said the United States is a vital component of Pakistan’s foreign policy. He appreciated President Obama’s message of friendship and cooperation in the aftermath of the Peshawar attack on December 16. Secretary Kerry extended condolences of the US government and people over the tragedy, and said that terrorists are the common enemy of the two countries.
The prime minister noted that his October 2013 state visit to the US was very productive as the two countries agreed to build relations on strong footing with focus on Pakistan’s priorities in the energy sector, bilateral trade, market access, investment, infrastructure development and counter-terrorism. He appreciated that all the five working groups have made substantial progress particularly the working groups on Energy and Defence.
The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s focus on greater market access for Pakistani products and US investment in Pakistan for creating job opportunities and hoped that next Business Opportunities Conference to be held in Islamabad in March 2015 will receive good response from US investors. He also appreciated US support for Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha dam projects.
The prime minister said that in order to counter terrorism and extremism in the country, the government has evolved a comprehensive National Action Plan, which is being implemented to completely eradicate all terrorists and extremists from Pakistani soil.
Underlining the importance that the US attaches to the relationship, Kerry said the US would continue to support Pakistan in effectively combating terrorism and also in addressing various other challenges.
John Kerry will be visiting Army Public School Peshawar today (Tuesday) during his stay in Pakistan to pay homage to the martyrs.
The Foreign Office here is of the view that the visit has assumed conspicuous significance in the wake of the Peshawar tragedy and the country’s resolve to fight against terrorism in its aftermath. Pakistan is asking the US for technical and training assistance for the rapid force that the government has decided to set up under the NAP, the sources said.
Kerry is joined in the trip by General Lloyd Austin, who heads the US Central Command which stretches across 18 nations in the Middle East, Central and South Asia from Egypt to Pakistan. The sources maintained that Pakistan would ask Kerry to step up technical and training assistance for its programme aimed at cracking down on extremism following the Peshawar attack. It is understood that John Kerry is discussing ways to improve Afghan-Pakistani ties as well as reconciliation efforts with Taliban militants in each country.