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LAHORE: United States Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron P. Munter has blamed the Pakistani media for misreporting the United States’ reward for justice programme on the issue of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and said the US government didn’t announce any bounty or head money for JuD Chief.
“Pakistani media is very active and responsible but it misreported the issue of Hafiz Saeed. Though Hafiz Saeed is a suspected accused of the Mumbai terror attacks, the US government didn’t place any bounty/head money for him,” the US diplomat said while replying to various queries during a media talk after addressing the annual dinner of the American Business Forum (ABF) at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club here on Saturday.
He said the US reward for justice programme was based on the information received that could lead to arrest or conviction of any United Nations’ declared terrorist (not specifically for Hafiz Saeed) of any country.
Talking about the ongoing efforts to maintain peace in Afghanistan, the US envoy said a trilateral meeting of Pakistan, United States and Afghanistan was recently held in Islamabad in order to resolve the issue.
“Though the role of Pakistan and United States is to assist the process of dialogue to come to a solution to this issue, Afghanistan itself has to make a solution to this issue finally,” he added.
While commenting about the present relations between Pakistan and the US, Mr Munter admitted that there was a lack of trust in relations between the two countries.
“But, such mistrust can be overcome through holding dialogue, discussion and people-to-people contacts between the two countries,” he added.
He said the good future for Pakistan and America rested in trade and investment respectively.
Earlier, speaking at the annual dinner ceremony, the US ambassador said his country was firmly committed to its partnership with Pakistan, a relationship built on a foundation of mutual interests, respect and trust. An important element of this relationship was trade rather than aid, he added.
“US-Pakistan commercial relations are already strong. The mutual trade was a robust $5.4 billion in 2010. US exports to Pakistan include machinery, aircraft, health technology, vehicles and cotton and yarn. Whereas Pakistani exports to the United States include a wide variety of textile products, apparel, furniture, medical devices, leather goods and furnishings,” he explained.
In addition, he said, the stock of the US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan was $517 million in 2009 while the stock of Pakistani FDI in the US was $45 million in the same year.
He said Pakistan offered ample investment opportunities for the US companies in railways, airlines, oil and gas exploration, food processing, fisheries, development of cool chain facilities, airports and ancillary facilities, IT and telecom infrastructure, education and training and healthcare.
He said with a consumer base of more than 180 million people, a young and educated workforce and a culture of entrepreneurship, Pakistan offered countless trade and investment opportunities for the US businesses.
Mr Munter said the American Embassy in Pakistan was also seeking to connect Pakistani and US businesses through various mechanisms such as counseling, partnering, networking and participation in trade missions and international trade events.
“The US mission is committed to promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship within Pakistan and is proud of its relationship with the future business leaders of Pakistan,” he said, adding that in March, over 300 Pakistani entrepreneurs, students, educators and government officials attended the young entrepreneurs conference 2012 in Islamabad where participants discussed ways to develop a new generation to view entrepreneurship as a viable alternative to traditional career paths.
ABF President Salim Ghauri and others also spoke on the occasion.
