Pakistan's Khar to meet Clinton in London on Thursday

Answering a question on whether she would be meeting Clinton in London, Khar who was addressing a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague after their meeting in London on Tuesday evening said: "Yes, I will be looking forward to meet Secretary Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the Somalia meeting." "We hope that for the goals that we share, the shared goals and objectives in the region, that of peace and stability within the region, within Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States will be able to foster our ties," she said.

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However, there are certain preconditions for that. And the preconditions are that of firstly what is considered to be in the mutual interest, and pursuing a track, which is predictable, which is transparent and which is sustainable, Khar said. "I think the sustainability of this relationship has been missing," she said. "What we are trying to do in government in Pakistan is to expand the scope of this relationship by giving it parliamentary ownership. So it must not be interpreted as an effort to contract this relationship, but to expand it."

Relations between Pakistan and the United States were severely damaged last year by a covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and the alliance remains tense. "The Pakistani Parliament currently is looking at terms of the engagement with the United States," she said, adding "red lines" created by Pakistan in its relationship with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation had been "crossed repeatedly."

Asked whether the United Kingdom would use its good offices to improve ties between Pakistan and the US, British Foreign Secretary said, "We have discussed relations between US and Pakistan. As a friend of Pakistan and ally of the USA we want good relations between them."

Earlier in the day, William Hague and Khar held detailed talks on 'Enhanced Strategic Dialogue' between the two countries. "In Britain we are committed to a relationship with Pakistan that is deep, long term and strategic," said Hague.

"We value its many distinctive characteristics; such as the close personal ties between hundreds of thousands of our citizens, our crucial partnership against terrorism, our important trade ties and our unswerving commitment to Pakistan's development and to its democratic future," he added.

The British foreign secretary said, "Today we have agreed to continue our collaboration against terrorism; helping disrupt immediate threats and to tackle the long term causes of terrorism. In Britain we understand the terrible losses terrorism has inflicted upon Pakistan and we feel them deeply too."

Hague said, "We discussed Afghanistan and I welcomed the minister's recent productive visit to Kabul. It is vital that further progress is made this year to consolidate the process of transition to Afghan security control, to agree a long term international commitment to Afghanistan beyond 2014, and to support Afghan-led efforts towards reconciliation and a lasting political settlement," said the foreign secretary.

A joint UK-Pakistan statement issued after their meeting said, "Foreign Minister of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar and British Foreign Secretary William Hague took forward the enhanced strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the UK that underpins the unbreakable partnership between both countries."

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