On the eve of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s arrival here for a meeting with President Barack Obama on Thursday, Islamabad has begun renewing its pitch for a US intervention in Kashmir — something that Washington has rejected time and again.
“It’s the responsibility of the United States and the international community to help resolve the problem of Kashmir,” Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told the Pakistani media after preparatory talks with US officials.
“During the Prime Minister’s visit, we will talk about the tension with India on the line of Control,” Chaudhry said, claiming that Pakistan’s “peace overtures” were not getting “any positive response from India”.
On a day when the White House virtually dismissed yet again the speculation of a possible civil nuclear deal with Pakistan during Sharif’s visit, Chaudhry sought to justify his country’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons on the grounds that it needed them to “deter” any aggression from India.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that President Obama would discuss “nuclear security” with Sharif, but discounted the possibility of any nuclear deal with Pakistan.
“I would significantly reduce your expectations about that occurring on Thursday,” Earnest told reporters, who had come out with a similar pronouncement last week amid a series of reports in the US media of talks being under way to hammer out a possible India-type civil nuclear deal.
“At this point, the United States has been engaged with Pakistan, as well as the rest of the international community on issues related to nuclear safety and security,” Earnest had last week, without saying whether or not such discussions included the prospect of a deal, possibly at a later point.
In a separate statement, the spokesman said the Obama-Sharif meeting “will highlight the enduring nature of the US-Pakistan relationship and provide an opportunity to strengthen our cooperation on issues of mutual concern, including economic growth, trade and investment, clean energy, global health,
climate change, nuclear security, counterterrorism, and regional stability”.
“The President looks forward to discussions with Prime Minister Sharif on ways we can advance our shared interest in a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan,” the statement said.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has claimed that it had not sought any deal with the US that would limit Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal. Chaudhry has been quoted by the Pakistani media as saying that the country’s nuclear programme was aimed at deterring any aggression from India, so it would never compromise with its national security interests.
“Our nuclear programme is one dimensional: stopping Indian aggression before it happens. It is not for starting a war. It is for deterrence,” the Dawn newspaper quoted Chaudhry as saying, adding: “We are not signing a nuclear deal. No deal, not of any kind.”