US committed to Pakistan, Afghanistan

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to remain engaged with both Pakistan and Afghanistan even as the US works to end the Aghan war. “We are ending a decade of armed conflict. But when all the troops come home, thousands of State Department and USAID employees, American and local staff will still be there on the frontlines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan,” she said at the State Department. “They will be working under very difficult conditions to advance our vital interests through civilian power,” the State Secretary added. The chief US diplomat also told the conference of American ambassadors that the US will depend on their close work in Pakistan, which is “vital” to American policies in the region. “I’m also counting on your personal vigorous engagement regarding Pakistan. (US Ambassador to Pakistan) Cameron Munter, and before him, Anne Patterson, have had very challenging assignments,” she pointed out. Noting there were multiple overlapping worlds in Pakistan which the US had to deal with all of them simultaneously, Clinton said “but the country is vital to our counterterrorism, economic stability, and regional cooperation goals for the region. And we will continue to engage where we even have legitimate concerns and disagreements.” Regarding Afghanistan, Hillary Clinton said a critical element of the path forward in Afghanistan will be the success of the Afghans in securing and leading their country for themselves. “Ambassador Ryan Crocker has brought his tremendous lifetime experience to this really difficult job at this moment,” she noted. “They will need help. And I’ve asked many of you, as a key element of President Obama’s policy, to press the governments to which you are accredited to pledge substantial financial support to the Afghan security forces for the period beyond 2014,” she said, referring to the 2014 deadline when NATO is due to end its combat operations in Afghanistan and hand over full security responsibility to Afghan forces. Meanwhile, a Pentagon spokesman said the United States look forward to having a good partnership with Pakistan moving forward. “That’s what our focus is on. We believe it is critical for the region and for the mission in Afghanistan,” Spokesperson, Navy Captain John Kirby, said. In response to a question, he also looked forward to working with the new ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer ul Islam. The spokesman added the appointment of new ISI chief is decision of the Pakistani leadership and it is not for the US to make comments on Pakistan’s appointments to high offices.