PM was set to cancel US visit over nukes limitation issue

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan had told the US administration of the possible cancellation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to the US to counter Washington’s intent to seriously dent Islamabad’s nuclear programme as well as its Afghan and Kashmir policies to the advantage of India.
Informed sources told The News that Washington’s draft joint statement for the said visit which was shared with Islamabad for consent, days before the departure of the prime minister to the US, was found offensive by the Pakistani authorities.
In a high-level meeting held under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Washington’s draft joint statement was discussed. To the dismay of Islamabad, the draft joint statement was found to be preparing the ground for a serious attack on the country’s nuclear programme besides hurting Pakistan’s Afghan and Kashmir policies.
In the meeting, it was suggested by Interior Minsiter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan that Washington should be conveyed that the prime minister would prefer cancelling the visit instead of agreeing to the US desires. The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi also endorsed what Ch Nisar had suggested.
The premier was advised that visiting the US in such conditions and without getting the draft joint statement changed in Pakistan’s favour, would be disastrous for the country. There was unanimity that Pakistan could not compromise on such vital issues. It was agreed that Pakistan will not talk on suggestions like limiting its nuclear and strategic programme.
In these conditions, the prime minister had decided to frankly convey to Washington that the Pakistani premier could not undertake the US visit unless the draft joint statement was changed to the satisfaction of Islamabad.
Consequently, Washington was conveyed that the prime minister would prefer cancelling his visit rather than agreeing to what the US administration was suggesting Islamabad to do. This move from Islamabad had panicked Washington which agreed to drop the issues that were of serious concern to Pakistan from the draft joint statement to save the visit from cancellation.
To prepare the ground for the visit as per Islamabad’s satisfaction, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affair Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry were made to rush to Washington.
Foreign Office sources said that because of the timely reaction by Islamabad to the inappropriate move from Washington, the security and foreign policy red lines of Pakistan remained secure. The FO sources as well as some military officials are all-praise for Ch Nisar for how he defended Pakistan and presented Islamabad’s case at high-level meetings with key US officials during the PM’s visit to Washington.
“There has been plain speaking from the Pakistan side on how the US has been unfair to Pakistan,” a source said, adding that Washington was frankly told that despite Pakistan’s sacrifices and its decades old relations with the US it is unfairly dealt with by the latter to the advantage of India.
The Americans were told that step-motherly treatment was meted out to Pakistan whereas there had been hardly any reaction from Washington to the serious human rights violations and recent attacks on minorities in India.
The sources said that the US defence secretary at the very outset of his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz and his delegation had stated that he was pro-India. To this the Pakistan side responded so effectively that the defence secretary ended his meeting with a statement that now he is pro-India as well as pro-Pakistan.