Trust Is Issue

ISLAMABAD -- Two senior American officials came under withering public criticism from Pakistan on Tuesday, with the Pakistani foreign minister saying that “trust” between the countries was in question, particularly over the issue of American missile attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

With the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and the special envoy to the region, Richard C. Holbrooke, at his side, the minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said: “We did talk about drones, and let me be very frank: there is a gap between us.” He added, “The bottom line is the question of trust.”

Mr. Qureshi singled out the issue of the remotely piloted aircraft armed with missiles that the United States used against Al Qaeda’s havens in the tribal areas adjacent to Afghanistan.

Mr. Holbrooke and General Mullen arrived in Pakistan Monday night for a one-day visit during which they planned to elaborate on the details of the new strategy laid out by President Obama to eliminate Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan.

At a news conference at the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Qureshi raised his voice to the two Americans. “The terms of engagement are very clear,” he said. “We will engage with mutual trust and mutual respect, and that is the bottom line.”

He added: “We can only work together if we respect each other and trust each other. There is no other way and nothing else will work.”

Mr.Obama's administration officials have said there will be “no blank check for Pakistan.” In response, Mr. Qureshi said Pakistan would “neither accept nor give one.”

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, bravo, you spoke for the 170 million Pakistanis. Talking of blank cheques, let’s do a little stock taking and auditing. Uncountable deaths of soldiers, Policemen and civilians, 34 billions in economic losses, Immeasurable loss of confidence in international Investors, Inflation, Bomb Blast and many more. This is only a Glance, if you go in detail s then you will see the worth of That CHQ.