WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday described its partnership and counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan as vital and asked critics to see the important relationship in its entire perspective.“While we recognize there are complicated differences between our two countries and how we approach and view things at times, there has been a great deal of important cooperation and that should not be lost,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.He was asked to comment on the current status of US-Pakistan relationship following elimination of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a hideout in Abbottabad.“The American people should know that as they view and this try to view a complete picture of that relationship in the context of the succesful mission on Sunday,” he added at the daily briefing, citing years of cooperation since 9/11 between the two anti-terror partners.Carney said the relationship between two countries has been tested many times over several years. President Obama’s spokesman noted that Pakistan has been on the front lines in many ways of the fight against al-Qaeda.
The White House spokesman also drew attention to sacrifices Pakistan has made saying the “Pakistanis have suffered in large numbers at the hands of terrorists,” Islamabad, Carney remarked, has over the years provided important assistance in struggle against terrorists and said the United States looked forward to learning about support bin Laden had and noted that the Pakistanis are investigating that as well.“Pakistanis have provided useful intelligence and coopeeration over the years and broadly speaking, provided assistance that helped us build the mountain of information.”The spokesman emphasized the importance of US-Pakistan relationship by referring to the fact that President Obama spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari Sunday night before he addressed the Americans in the wake of successful operation against bin Laden.Going forward, the Press Secretary underscored, Pakistan remains a key partner in rendering al-Qaeda in the region completely ineffective.“Pakistan is (going to be) very important partner in that effort. – APP
