Pak-US relations: Islamabad firm not to attend trilateral meeting

Resurrected from the ashes of a deadly drone attack that killed 45 in North Wazirstan subsequent to release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis, a deadlock once again hit Pak-US relation since Islamabad still stand by its decision not to attend the trilateral ministerial meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and United States.
"There is no further development on the trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and United Stated being held in Brussels on March 26 as Pakistan had conveyed to the US that it will not attend this meeting due to recent drone attack," said Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua at weekly press briefing.
On March 18, US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter was summoned to the Foreign Office, where Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir had handed over a demarche on the drone attack along with the decision of pulling out of the trilateral ministerial meeting.
The US Ambassador had committed to travel to Washington for delivering the message, however, it did not happen. Tehmina Janjua said that Pakistan has always opposed drone attacks and "killing of innocent people is totally unacceptable."
Responding to a question regarding status of Pak-US relations in the aftermath of the drone attack, the spokesperson said despite differences on the drone issue Pakistan has made serious efforts to upgrade its relations with the United States.
In response to another question on Afghanistan, she said, "Pakistan strongly supports the process of transfer of responsibility including security to the Afghan government."
She said, "Pakistan's diplomacy is centered on promoting stability and peace in its immediate neighbours and hope that people and government of Afghanistan will take on the responsibility to ensure security in their country."
When asked about upcoming meeting (on March 28-29) between the interior secretaries of Pakistan and India, Ms Janjua referred to a recent statement by Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani: Pakistan believes that dialogue is the only way forward which must be uninterrupted and uninterruptable and said that the Delhi meeting would be focused on terrorism, counter narcotics and humanitarian issues. "We look forward to positive results from the Interior and Home Secretaries' talks," she added.
After the Delhi engagement, a meeting between Pak-India Commerce and Trade Secretaries would take place in Islamabad next month and would be followed by meetings of Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers in July, she said.
When asked for comments over desecration of the Holy Quran in the US, she once again condemned the act saying this fanatic act is a serious threat to religious harmony.
Pakistan Ambassador at Washington and Permanent Representative at United Nations in New York have written strong demarche to the US Government and the UN is highlighting the views of Muslim Ummah on the issue.
In addition, Pakistani Ambassador at Geneva has also taken up the issue at Human Rights Council by condemning the act on behalf of OIC and Pakistan, she told.
Replying to a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan has great concerns over the regional stability in North Africa and Middle East. She said Pakistan supports reconciliation and dialogue process initiated by the government in Bahrain, as it wanted peace and security in the region.
Answering to a question, Tehmina Janjua said Pakistan has never tried to block negotiations on disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and it intends to have assurance on the security of the non-nuclear states. She said, "In fact some other countries have been engaged in blocking these negotiations since decades."