Negroponte, Boucher visit to Pak is coincidental: US

The visit of US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher have nothing to do with political situation of Pakistan and were just coincidental, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack has said.

Washington, Sep 11 : The visit of US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher have nothing to do with political situation of Pakistan and were just coincidental, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack has said.

"As a matter of fact, it's coincidence that the timing of this particular strategic dialogue takes place right now. Ambassador Negroponte and Boucher are going to be in Pakistan for the strategic dialogue with their Pakistani counterparts. This is something that had been scheduled prior to the political calendar, shall we say, that's unfolding now in Pakistan," McCormack said.

Commenting on the deportation of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he said: "It's a matter for the Pakistanis to resolve. First of all, the approximate issue at hand, this agreement that was arrived at among the Pakistani Government, Sharif, his brother and the Saudi government, we're not party to that."

Talking about a decision of Sharif's party to launch a movement against the Musharraf's regime, McCormack said: "There's going to be a democratic process in Pakistan. There are legal issues that are currently outstanding in Pakistan with respect to this deportation."

"I said that we're not going to have anything more to say about it as it moves through the Pakistani legal process," he added.

"The Pakistani military is taking losses in going into those (north-western) territories that haven't been controlled by any Pakistani Government," The Daily Times quoted McCormack, as saying.

"And we have encouraged President Musharraf to do everything that he can to bring those territories under control and not allow them to be a safe haven for Al Qaeda extremists or other terrorists that pose just as great a threat to Pakistanis and President Musharraf as they do to us, as well as other freedom-loving people around the world," he added.

ANI