US working towards convincing ’sceptical’ Pak of “enduring relationship”: Crowley

NEW YORK - The United States recognises that Pakistani people are sceptical about it, and will work hard towards trying to convince them that the US-Pakistan relationship will serve the interests of both countries, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley has said.

“We recognise that the Pakistani people are sceptical. We understand that. We are going to work hard in a sustained effort over time to try to convince Pakistan that this is a relationship that we believe will be enduring and will serve the interests of the Pakistani people, the American people, and other people in the region and around the world,” Crowley said at the Foreign Press Centre during a briefing.

He said that the US was trying not only to improve Pakistan’s military capability to deal with terrorism but also boost the Pakistan government’s capacity to meet the legitimate needs of its people.

“We are moving forward with a strategic partnership not only to continue to help Pakistan improve its military capability to confront an insurgency which is a threat to Pakistan as well as other countries. And most importantly, to build up the capacity of the Pakistani government to be able to serve the legitimate needs of the Pakistani people. We have put a significant amount of money forward,” he said in response to a question.

When asked about the US’ role in securing amnesty for former President Pervez Musharraf as reported in one of the leaked State Department’s cables released by WikiLeaks, Crowley said, “In my view, judge the United States by its actions. And Pakistan is a perfect example of where the United States has worked to help Pakistan restore civilian government, from what amounted to a military dictatorship.”

To another question that some parts of the world, including the President of Iran, considered that the leaking of diplomatic cables was ‘by design, from America’, the spokesman said, “No one within the United States Government with a brain wanted to see this happen. I can guarantee you this is not part of any grand conspiracy on behalf of the United States. The last thing that we wanted to see is what has actually happened.” (ANI)