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‘U.S. for long-term ties with Pakistan’

— PHOTO:AFP

Joe Biden at a Munich meet.

Washington: The U.S. Vice-President, Joe Biden, on Saturday underlined the urgency for Washington to establish a long-term relationship with Pakistan as he linked the success in Afghanistan with the full-fledged cooperation from Islamabad.

Mr. Biden told global leaders at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy that the world needs to help Pakistan promote economic development in the country, as success in Afghanistan cannot be achieved without cooperation from Islamabad.

He said the Obama administration believes that the U.S. needs to urgently establish a long-term relationship with Pakistan from a transactional one. “No strategy for Afghanistan, in my humble opinion, can succeed without Pakistan,” Mr. Biden said.

As a U.S. Senator, Mr. Biden along with Senator Richard Lugar last year introduced a legislation to triple non-military aid to Pakistan amounting to $1.5 billion per annum for the next one decade. The bill in a revised format is being reintroduced in the Senate by Senator John Kerry along with Lugar.

“We must all strengthen our cooperation with the people and government of Pakistan, help them stabilise their tribal areas, promote economic development and opportunity throughout their country,” Mr. Biden said, according to transcripts of speech made available by the White House.

Referring to the ongoing strategic review of the U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr. Biden said there was a lot at stake. “In the case of my government, we feel it’s urgent to move from a relationship that was transactional to one that is based upon a long-term relationship,” Mr. Biden said.

“The result must be a comprehensive strategy for which we all take responsibility – that brings together our civilian and military resources that prevents terrorists a safe haven, that helps the Afghan people develop the capacity to secure their own future,” he said. The U.S. will continue to work for a stable Afghanistan that’s not a haven for terrorists, he said.

“We look forward to sharing that commitment with the government and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and with all of our allies and partners, because a deteriorating situation in the region poses a security threat not just to the United States, but I would suggest somewhat presumptuously, to every one of you assembled in this room,” Mr. Biden said. – PTI

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