US, Pakistan have shared anti-terror interests: Clinton

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that the US and Pakistan shared interests in fighting terrorism after a panel in Islamabad made demands over the troubled relationship. Clinton declined to comment in-depth on the Parliamentary Committee on National Security’s (PCNS) recommendations but said that the US was committed to an “honest, constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with Pakistan”. “We’ve been working through these difficulties and challenges. We believe we have shared interests. We believe we have the same enemies,” Clinton said at a news conference with Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul. “We believe that it’s important to support counterterrorism against the insurgents who kill and maim tens of thousands of Pakistani people, who send teams across the border to kill and maim people in Afghanistan and to kill and maim our soldiers and others,” Clinton said. Clinton also said the US appeared to be on track to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan charting their future relations during or before a late May NATO summit. The two countries earlier signed a deal on the transfer of a major US-run prison to Afghan authority, leaving military raids on Afghan homes conducted at night as the final sticking point for reaching a deal. “We’ve made good progress in the last few weeks,” Clinton said. agencies

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