Qureshi, who is on an official two-day visit to the Kingdom on Prince Saud’s invitation, was briefed by the Saudi side about Singh’s visit to Riyadh earlier this month. In a news briefing alongside Pakistani Ambassador Umar Khan Alisherzai, Qureshi spoke very candidly on a range subjects including constitutional reforms in Pakistan, the OIC, Saudi-Pakistani relations, and Pakistani-US ties with special reference to the US military and economic aid.
Responding to a question, Qureshi revealed that Pakistan would be “receiving about $2.1 billion funds from the US before June” this year.
Asked about reports of India’s intentions to seek a Saudi role in resolving differences with Pakistan, he said he thought India may not have pursued this as it always discourages third-party involvement. He, however, said that he has no reservations if New Delhi wants to involve the Kingdom to bolster the prospect of peace. Qureshi clarified that there are only “four Indian consulates” in Afghanistan when asked about the opening of 14 Indian consulates in that country amid reports that they are being used for alleged espionage.
He clarified that Pakistan also has four diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. To this end, he said that Islamabad has taken up the issue of India’s intrusion in Afghanistan with both New Delhi and the United States. In fact, Pakistan is “more impacted” if any ugly incident takes place in Afghanistan, as the two countries share a huge border, said Qureshi when asked about the issue of Afghanistan, which figured prominently during the talks between Saudi officials and the Indian prime minister recently.
“Even today, we have some three million Afghan refugees inside our country, and … hence we want a stable, peaceful and friendly Afghanistan,” he said. The foreign minister, however, admitted that New Delhi had “old links” with Kabul, and wished a better relation between all countries of the region. To this end, he said that he discussed the “evolving Afghanistan situation” with Prince Saud in detail. The Kingdom and Pakistan have agreed that any action or interaction with regard to Afghanistan will be done by mutual consultations, he observed.
Referring to his talks with Prince Saud, he said that the two sides had “agreed to hold a session of political consultations in the near future.” The two sides also agreed to convene a joint ministerial meeting at a mutually convenient date in the near future,” said Qureshi, adding that Prince Saud had “accepted the invitation” to visit Islamabad shortly.
On reforms in Pakistan, he said that Pakistani lawmakers are on the verge of enacting sweeping constitutional changes. Support in parliament is virtually unanimous for a constitutional amendment that shifts the bulk of the powers to the prime minister, he added.
Asked about his recent visit to the US and the American commitments for more aid, Qureshi said he was satisfied with US pledges made during a daylong strategic conference in Washington. The US side, he said, has agreed to increase and streamline the delivery of military and economic aid and to “move from a relationship to a partnership.” While referring to his talks with US Secretary of States Hillary Rodham Clinton, he said he is hopeful of more US support including disbursement of a new $7.5-billion, five-year US aid package for Pakistan’s energy, water, agricultural and education sectors.
Long-standing Pakistani complaints about nearly $2.1 billion in promised but unpaid US reimbursements for Pakistan’s counterinsurgency operations had been largely resolved with the remaining money to be paid by the end of June, he said. He added that Washington was also committed to support Pakistan by “improving the efficiency and capacity of thermal stations, leveraging with the IMF and ensuring more access to the US markets for Pakistani exports. Qureshi left for the holy city of Madinah after addressing a huge crowd of Pakistani expatriates on Saturday evening.
