serious dialogue, Zardari urges Washington

serious dialogue, Zardari urges Washington
WASHINGTON: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday asked the United States to resume a “serious” dialogue with Pakistan on the way forward in the

relationship and counter-terror efforts, both of which have been hurt by recent anti-Pakistan rhetoric emanating from Washington. He wrote in The

Washington Post that “terrorists who threaten both our country and the United States, have gained the most from the recent verbal assaults by some in

America, made against Pakistan.” “This strategy is damaging the relationship between Pakistan and the United States and compromising common goals

in defeating terrorism, extremism and fanaticism,” Zardari said. The opinion piece appeared in the wake of a series of controversial assertions made by

the now-retired American military leader Mike Mullen on Pakistani backing for Afghan Haqqani militants, caused a furore in ties and hurt sentiments of

the South Asian nation that continues to pay a heavy price in the fight against terror. “It is time for the rhetoric to cool and for serious dialogue between

allies to resume,” Zardari underscored in an article titled “Talk to, not at, Pakistan.” Islamabad, he said, remains unswerving in its quest for a better

future for its youth