Amid reports that the US may cooperate with Pakistan in civilian nuclear use, a top American diplomat today said that the Obama Administration would soon unwrap a range of actions for Islamabad in the field of energy, security and water.
Special US representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, who had a preview meeting with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi ahead of tomorrow's US-Pak Strategic Dialogue, said the Congress would be involved in the process.
The meeting was held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department; which among others was attended by Pakistani ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani.
Holbrooke said the United States would be announcing a range of actions, some big some small that move the process forward on issues from energy to water to education, to security.
"We consider this to be a very important trip. I do want to be clear that no single trip ends an issue. This is a process," he said.
The comments by Holbrooke left it unclear whether US intends to expand its growing cooperation with Pakistan in civil and military fields to civilian nuclear use.
Earlier, a US-based Pakistani newspaper had quoted US ambassador in Islamabad Anne W Patterson as saying that Washington is "beginning to have a discussion with the Pakistan government" on its desire to tap nuclear energy.
Patterson was also quoted as saying that there would be "working level talks" on the issue in Washington this month.
"Earlier on, non-proliferation concerns were quite severe. I think we are beginning to pass those and this is a scenario that we are going to explore...," Patterson was quoted as saying in the report.
But a spokesperson of the US embassy in Islamabad yesterday said, "the US has not entered (into) negotiations on a civil nuclear agreement with Pakistan."
In his brief remarks, Qureshi reiterated that it is time that the US met the aspiration of Pakistan.
"I agree with ambassador Holbrooke that this is a process but this process has to be meaningful and it has to be mutually beneficial. It cannot be one-sided," Qureshi told Pakistani media.
"The people of Pakistan want the United States to walk the talk," said Qureshi, who would lead the Pakistani delegation for the first US-Pak Strategic Dialogue tomorrow.
The US delegation would be led by secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
