U.S. President George Bush Friday pledged that the United States would fully respect Pakistan's sovereignty and appreciated Pakistan's resolve in fighting Al- Qaeda and other terrorist elements, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
In a telephone conversation with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Bush said that recent remarks by some U.S. officials regarding possible U.S. action inside Pakistan in pursuit of Al- Qaeda were "unsavory and often prompted by political considerations in an environment of electioneering," according to the foreign ministry statement.
Bush agreed that such remarks did not serve the interests of either country, the statement said.
In the conversation, Musharraf also raised the issue of recent legislation adopted by the U.S. Congress on the Implementation of 9/11 Commission's Recommendations and expressed concern over elements that reflected negatively on the Pakistan-U.S. bilateral cooperation and relations, it said.
Bush explained the background of the bill expressing the view that he did not foresee any adverse impact of the Pakistan specific provisions on the existing cooperation which was in the mutual interest of the two countries.
"We mentioned that the U.S. Congress had recently approved funds close to 150 million dollars for Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) development for this year, which was another indication of the strong commitment on the part of the United States to support Pakistan," Bush was quoted as saying.
The foreign ministry statement said that at his initiative, Bush spoke to Musharraf over telephone and stated that the primary purpose of his telephone call was to congratulate the president and the people of Pakistan on the 60th Independence anniversary.
"We reaffirmed the U.S. desire to build a strong, long-term strategic relationship with Pakistan as it served the interest of both the countries and the world," Bush said. "The United States wanted to see a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan."
Bush also praised the role that Pakistan and Musharraf had been playing for peace and security in the region and appreciated the courage and sacrifices especially of the Pakistan armed forces in fighting terrorism, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua
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