Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Thursday the need to rebuild trust with the United States was key to upcoming talks and called on Washington to follow up words with action.
 
“My message to the US is that the time has come to walk the talk,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.
 
Qureshi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to lead talks in Washington next week aimed at boosting the economy and security of Pakistan, a key ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the long war in Afghanistan. They will chair the March 24 talks on what the State Department says will be economic development, education, agriculture and security.
 
“I believe our forthcoming dialogue will provide a good opportunity to re-build confidence and trust on both sides,” said Qureshi. “We want these talks to be broad based and that is why I am proposing a completely different format for interaction between the two countries.”