Hoping to smoothen the frayed ties between the two nations, the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is on a visit to the US, met President Barack Obama on Wednesday afternoon and discussed a slew of topics ranging from drone strikes, Kashmir, Afghanistan with the US President also mentioning Mumbai attacks trial and Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Asking the Pakistani PM about the progress made in Mumbai attacks trial, Obama also made mentions of the banned terror outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Sharif told reporters after the meeting.
“He (Obama) asked, why the trial of the (Mumbai) terrorist attack in India has not started yet,” Sharif told reporters immediately after his over two-hour meeting with Obama at the Oval Office of the White House.
Sharif added that the US President also brought up the issue of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), cross border terrorism and Dr Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and has been imprisoned, Sharif said.
“He (Obama) has raised the issue of (Dr Shakil) Afridi. He spoke about cross-border movement. He also talked about Jamaat-ud-Dawa,” the Pakistan Prime Minister said, without giving details.
With drone attacks being one of the top obstacles between the US-Pak ties, the Pakistani PM said he urged the US to end such attacks.
“I brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasising the need for an end to such strikes”, he said.
But the Pakistan’s appeal on drone attacks did not appear to influence US as the joint statement after Sharif-Obama meeting, made no mention of any US promise on curbing or ending the drone attacks.
However Obama did pledge to work on “ways that respect Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
Admitting that there were “misunderstandings” between the two countries,Obama pledged to work together against terrorism and extremism.
“We are committed to working together and making sure that rather than this being a source of tension between our two countries,it can be a source of strength.”
“It’s a challenge. It’s not easy,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif is also said to have raised the issue of Kashmir during the one and half hour meeting with the US President, but again Obama did not make any direct comments on the issue.
However, he applauded Sharif for “taking a very wise path in exploring how decades of tension between India and Pakistan can be reduced”.
“Billions of dollars have been spent on an arms race in response to these tensions, and those resources could be much more profitably invested in education, social welfare programmes on both sides of the border,” he said. ”
In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Obama welcomed recent engagements between Sharif and Singh and expressed hope that this would mark the beginning of a sustained dialogue process between the two neighbours, aimed at building lasting peace in South Asia and resolving all outstanding territorial and other disputes through peaceful means.
Obama said the two leaders had an opportunity to discuss India after the meeting of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Describing his meeting with Obama “a most cordial and comprehensive exchange of views” on matters of bilateral interest and issues of regional concern, Sharif said he told the US President about his sincere commitment to build a cordial and cooperative relationship with India. He also talked about “efforts to peacefully resolve all our outstanding issues, including Kashmir.” Sharif said that terrorism constitutes a common threat.
“It is as much a concern to us as it is for India. We need to allay our respective concerns through serious and sincere efforts without indulging into any blame game. I also assured the President that as a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan will continue to act with maximum restraint and work toward strengthening strategic stability in South Asia,” Sharif said.
In the joint statement, Obama and Sharif stressed that improvement in Pakistan-India bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting regional peace, stability, and prosperity, as it would significantly benefit the lives of citizens on both sides of the border.