Search the Internet          Tips

Review sanctions, Pakistan urges US

Pakistan urged the United States on Tuesday to review its military and economic sanctions against Kabul and Islamabad in view of the "ground realities".

This was conveyed by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz to US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca, who arrived in Pakistan on Sunday on a four-day visit.

The Online news agency quoted well-placed sources as saying that the two discussed several key issues at their hour-long meeting, including the US sanctions, the Afghan civil war, Pakistan's economy and government reforms.

Aziz made it clear that the Afghan issue could not be resolved without recognising the "ground realities".

While declining to support the US and United Nations sanctions against Afghanistan, he said: "The sanctions on the Taleban have been casting a negative impact over the lives of the people of Afghanistan."

He urged Washington to pursue "a realistic policy" towards Afghanistan.

He termed the US economic sanctions against Pakistan, imposed since its nuclear tests of 1998, as "unjustified" and appealed to Washington to lift them without further delay.

But Rocca made it clear that the US sanctions "have been imposed in a phase-wise manner and these cannot be lifted at once".

Indo-Asian News Service

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report