Sharif: US must take Pakistan drone concerns seriously

Raiwind: Pakistan’s incoming prime minister said yesterday he wanted to strengthen his country’s fractious relations with the United States but warned Washington must take seriously their concerns about drone strikes.
Nawaz Sharif, who won an unprecedented third term in Saturday’s general election, said the US would have Pakistan’s “full support” as it withdraws the bulk of its forces from Afghanistan by the end of next year and made overtures to nuclear rival India in a briefing with the foreign media at his family estate outside Lahore.
Missile attacks by unmanned drone aircraft on militant targets in Pakistan’s tribal northwest have been a public thorn in relations in recent years.
Washington sees the attacks as an important weapon in the fight against militancy but they are unpopular in Pakistan because of reports of civilian casualties and because they are seen as an infringement of sovereignty. Sharif told foreign journalists at his estate outside the eastern city of Lahore that he would discuss the issue with the US.
“Drones are indeed a challenge to our sovereignty. Of course we have taken this matter up very seriously and also spoken to the Americans during our meetings,” he said.
“This is a very important issue and our concern must be understood properly. We will sit with our American friends and we will certainly talk to them on this issue.”
Sharif’s last term as premier came to an abrupt end when he was deposed in a coup led by then-army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
The military ruler enjoyed good relations with Washington, but ties were hammered by a series of crises under the outgoing government led by the Pakistan People’s Party.
Relations reached rock bottom when Pakistan closed overland NATO supply lines for six months in response to a botched US air raid that killed 24 border guards.
Ties have warmed again in recent months and Sharif said he would work to see that this continued.
“I think we have good relations with the United States of America. We certainly have to listen to each other,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karachi stocks hit an all-time high yesterday, raising hopes that Sharif’s agenda could spark an economic revival. Commenting on Saturday's election, the European Union observer mission said yesterday that high turnout in Pakistan’s landmark polls was a positive step for democracy even though the campaign was marred by violence and irregularities.
Violence in the run-up to polls and on election day itself killed over 150 people, according to an AFP tally, as the Taleban set their sights in particular on secular parties that made up the outgoing government.
Saturday’s vote was the first time a civilian government has served a full term and handed over power to another in a country that has been ruled by the military for half its life.
Violence during the campaign and on election day had been “terrible, but must not overshadow the achievements of the process,” Member of the European Parliament Richard Howitt told a news conference. “The turnout in defiance of the threats against the process was an extraordinary vote of confidence in democracy itself,” he said. “This election was a step forward, but one from which we call on all those elected to sustain their commitment to reforms, in the interests of good government for the people and governance for the state.”