Mike Pompeo meets Imran Khan at Pakistan House in Washington DC on July 23, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that a strong Pakistan-US partnership is vital to promotion of mutual interests of the two countries as well as broader regional peace, stability and prosperity.
He said this while meeting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who called on him at Pakistan House in Washington on Tuesday.
PM Imran is on a three-day official visit to the United States in a bid to reset the strained ties between the two countries.
Expressing satisfaction at his wide-ranging talks with President Trump at the White House a day earlier, the prime minister said that convergence on promoting a political solution in Afghanistan had created the opportunity for regional peace and stability.
“A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is vital for Pakistan,” said the premier and emphasised on the importance of close collaboration between Pakistan and US to advance that objective.
The US State Department also tweeted a video of the Pompeo-Imran meeting.
This morning, @SecPompeo met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan @ImranKhanPTI, in Washington D.C. @usembislamabad pic.twitter.com/ZRPFpQBoha
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 23, 2019
Reiterating his government’s support to a broad-based and enduring Pakistan-US relationship, the premier stressed upon the need to further enhance and diversify the bilateral content of the relationship in a wide range of areas.
Prime Minister Imran also spoke about his government’s successes in countering the scourge of terrorism and his initiatives to build peace in the region. He noted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had taken myriad administrative and legal measures to mainstream madrasahs.
As part of his policy of “peaceful neighbourhood”, the prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s desire for peaceful and cooperative relations with all neighbours. He underscored the various initiatives taken to advance this objective with regard to India.
The premier underlined that the peace dividend for both countries would be enormous with peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes and would usher in an eras of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Ambassador Asad M Khan and Additional Secretary (Americas) Aftab A Khokher also attended the meeting.
Secretary Pompeo was accompanied by Under-Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells and US Charge d’ Affaires in Islamabad Paul W Jones.
US Senator Lindsey Graham also had met the prime minister on Monday and acknowledged that high-level engagement between Islamabad and Washington is beneficial for both the countries.
In 2018, Pompeo had paid a maiden visit to Pakistan after assuming charge of US high-powered post and met Premier Imran and other top civilian and military leadership.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ