Islamabad, Dec. 26 (ANI): The replacement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Senator John Kerry has been welcomed by Pakistan for more reasons than one, according to an editorial in a Pakistani daily.
The editorial in The Express Tribune has stated the following instances that where Sen. Kerry has shown his support for Pakistan- In September this year, when Sen. Rand Paul asked the US Senate to pass his amendment asking for all assistance to be cut off to Pakistan on the question of Dr Shakil Afridi, Sen. Kerry took him on, challenging his contention that Pakistan was not a friend of US and rebuked him for making his remarks without ever once having visited Pakistan, it said.
Earlier in 2011, President Barack Obama sent Senator Kerry to Pakistan to talk to the power centres of Pakistan to break the deadlock in Pak-US relations. As his visit unfolded, the US press noted that "Pakistan is vital to US efforts to combat Islamist militants and to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, where US forces depend on Pakistani supply lines for water, food, fuel and other essentials", it added.
The Pak-US equation dipped perilously after the Bin Laden killing. However, Sen. Kerry became a part of the diplomacy, leading to the reopening of NATO supply routes in 2012. He was seen as a friend of Pakistan and was effective in moderating views on both sides of the quarrel till they were ready to place their relationship on a new footing. He continued to emphasise the Pakistani point of view while putting forward the concerns of the Obama Administration, the editorial said.
He was in Islamabad again in May 2012 asking for a "reset" of Pak-US relations. The US was not yet sure about the option of offering apology for the Bin Laden incident but it was clear that Kerry's diplomacy was unleashed to test the waters in Pakistan before flexibility was adopted on the issue, it further said.
Sen. Kerry's 24-hour visit was meant to soothe Pakistani anger at not being informed about the raid because the US was keeping the situation in Afghanistan on top of its 'endgame' agenda. He gave the first signal for the positive developments that followed, climaxing in American acceptance of Pakistan's concerns about post-withdrawal Afghanistan, the editorial added. (ANI)
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