The US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador, Marc Grossman, on Tuesday termed the death of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden a "shared achievement" and emphasised the long term commitment of US to end extremism for peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The death of Osama bin Laden is a shared achievement," Marc Grossman said in his opening statement while briefing the media about discussions during the much delayed trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Untied States, here at the Foreign Office.
The allies in war against terrorism expressed the hope that their meeting would provide "new impetus" in achieving their shared objectives. "The death of Osama bin Laden does not in any way alter US commitment to long-term fight against extremism and terrorism," he added. Tracked through intelligence sources in August 2010, world's most wanted man was killed by US Navy Seals in a mansion in Abbotabad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in early hours of May 3.
The death of al Qaeda chief is being hailed as a momentous achievement but conspiracy theories are swirling since video evidence of bin Laden has not been shared. To a question about such theories, Ambassador Grossman simply insisted: "he is dead". Asked for comments on Osama's death, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said there is no point in getting into forensic details such as 'who did what', adding "Osama is history and we should look forward." Bashir said: "It is our determination not to allow our soil to be used by anyone for terrorism. Terrorism has no faith and religion and the killing of innocent people cannot be justified by anyone."
While commenting on the death of Osama bin Laden, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jaweed Ludin said: "This guy was someone who had the blood on his hands of innocent Afghans and thousands of Muslims all across the world. He was not merely an enemy of the US; therefore, justice has been brought on behalf of millions of Muslims."
However, the US special envoy remained tight-lipped over questions about drone attacks and said "We should consider the purpose of Pakistan-US counter terrorism co-operation." Thousands of Pakistani civilians and soldiers have become victim of terrorism and co-ordination with Pakistan is designed to help bring safety and security to Pakistanis and Americans around the world. This is a noble goal, he added.
Earlier, while giving details of trilateral meeting, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir stated that Pakistan, United States and Afghanistan had agreed to cooperate and co-ordinate in an Afghan-led reconciliation process to ensure peace, security and development in the region. Ambassador Grossman said: "We will co-ordinate and cooperate with these countries and put more diplomacy behind it to make Afghanistan safer."
The US Special envoy stated that their talks were mainly focused on trade and economic integration and how to create more jobs and that he urged for early implementation of Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement. Bashir stated that "Pakistan is looking forward to engaging deeply with the United States and Afghanistan with a view to promoting and achieving a shared objective of stability and peace within our respective countries and the region as a whole."
He said the representatives of the three countries - Pakistan, United States and Afghanistan - had in-depth discussions and agreed to work together for writing a new chapter for progress and prosperity of the people. The Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister said that "we have given a new impetus to our trilateral relations."He said both Pakistan and Afghanistan have a vision of peace and stability for this region but there are challenges that impede realisation of this vision.
He expressed the hope that trilateral process has the potential to address some of the major issues of common interest for the three countries. "This year we came closer than ever to attaining our vision of peace and we hope that Pakistan and other friends would continue to extend co-operation for achieving this objective," he added.