US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have pledged cooperation on the security issues that have strained ties between their nations, but sources of long-standing tensions did briefly bubble to the surface.
Speaking alongside Obama at the Oval Office in Washington on Wednesday, Sharif said he raised the issue of US drone strikes during their two-hour meeting, “emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes.”
For his part, Obama made no mention of drones, which have stoked widespread resentment in Pakistan, where many believe the targeted strikes by the armed unmanned aircraft kill large numbers of civilians.
Despite the Pakistani concerns, the US has shown no indication it is willing to abandon the attacks, even though the number has dropped in the past couple of years. The Pakistani government secretly supported the strikes in the past and US officials claim some key leaders still do.
The Washington Post, citing top-secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos it had obtained, reported that top officials in Pakistan’s government have endorsed the program for years, if secretly, and routinely receive classified briefings on strikes and casualty counts.
In a story posted on Wednesday on its Web site, the Post reported that markings on the documents indicate that many of them were prepared by the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center specifically to be shared with the Pakistani government.
The documents, which detailed at least 65 strikes in Pakistan, are marked “top secret,” but are cleared for release to Pakistan, the newspaper reported.
Wednesday marked the first time Obama and Sharif have met since the Pakistani leader took office in June and the mere fact that the talks took place was seen as a sign of progress after a particularly sour period in relations between the security partners.
Obama acknowledged that there will always be some tension between the US and Pakistan, but said he and Sharif agreed to build a relationship based on mutual respect.
“It’s a challenge. It’s not easy,” Obama said. “We committed to working together and making sure that rather than this being a source of tension between our two countries, it can be a source of strength.”
Tensions peaked in 2011 following the US raid inside Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden and the accidental killing of two dozen Pakistani troops in a US airstrike along the Afghan border that same year, but there have been recent signs of progress, with Pakistan reopening supply routes to Afghanistan that were closed in retaliation for the accidental killing of its troops.
Ahead of Sharif’s visit, the US also quietly decided to release more than US$1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended in 2011.
Washington has warmly welcomed Sharif, who arrived on Sunday for his first visit to the US capital since taking office. He dined with US Secretary of State John Kerry and other top US officials, and was hosted at a breakfast meeting on Wednesday at US Vice President Joe Biden’s residence.
Sharif’s wife was also the guest of honor at a tea and poetry reception hosted by US first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the vice president’s wife.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number