The top civil-military leadership on Saturday told a group of visiting US lawmakers that Pakistan’s interests are compatible with the interests of the US as both the countries believe in democracy, rule of law, and striving for the provision of security at the regional and world level.
Members of the US Senate committees on armed services and intelligence, headed by Senator Angus King, held back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Imran and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The lawmakers are on a visit to Pakistan amid concerns that Washington may once again ditch Islamabad after its exit from Afghanistan.
The delegation also includes Senator Richard Burr, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ben Sasse. They are visiting Islamabad at a time when the US-Pakistan ties have been strained because of a number of reasons. The China-US tussle has further complicated the relationship between the two countries.
Members of US Senate Armed Services & intelligence Committees headed by Senator Angus King, called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) today. Delegation also included Senator Richard Burr, Senator John Cornyn & Senator Ben Sasse. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/alR50xeeae
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 11, 2021
Earlier this week, Pakistan turned down a US invitation to a summit on democracy in a decision that seemed to be linked with its close ties with China. China was not invited to the summit and strongly reacted to the US initiative. However, despite skipping the summit, Pakistan is trying to convey a message that it is not going to join any bloc politics.
The army chief told the US senators that Pakistan wished to maintain "productive bilateral relations" with all the regional players, suggesting that Islamabad did not want to join any bloc in an increasingly bipolar world where the Americans were desperately making efforts to counter the rise of China.
When the four-member US Senate delegation met Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, they were told that Pakistan valued its ties with the US but that did not mean the country would ignore regional players. According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the army chief and the US delegation discussed matters of mutual interest, the current security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Read more: Pakistan values relations with US, wants enhanced economic ties: PM Imran
As per the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief said Pakistan wanted to maintain roductive bilateral engagement with all the regional players and wished for peaceful, diversified, sustained relations. He also reiterated the urgency for global convergence on Afghanistan to avoid the looming humanitarian crisis and need for coordinated efforts for economic uplift of the Afghan people.
The COAS thanked the senators for their efforts in forging mutual understanding of geo political and security situation in view of challenges ahead.
The visiting dignitaries appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan situation, special efforts for border management, role in regional stability and pledged to play their part for furthering diplomatic cooperation with Islamabad at all levels.
Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan valued its longstanding relationship with the United States, stressing that it was “mutually beneficial and critical for region's peace, security and prosperity”. The prime minister hoped that the visits of congressional delegations will help strengthen mutual understanding and forge closer people-to-people contacts. “A deeper and stronger partnership between the two countries was mutually beneficial and critical for the region’s peace, security and prosperity,” PM Imran said.
With regard to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, he emphasised that the two countries must have a deeper engagement to promote the shared objectives of peace, stability and economic development.
PM Imran particularly underscored the urgent need to support the Afghan people by taking all possible measures to prevent a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse. He also highlighted the importance of closer cooperation to address the security threats in the region, including terrorism.
In informing the delegation about the continuous human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), PM Imran said that the extremist and exclusionist policies of the RSS-inspired BJP were posing a threat to regional peace and security. “The US must play its role in the maintenance of peace and stability in the region,” he stressed, underscoring that, for its part, Pakistan remained ready to pursue measures that would reinforce peace, stability and prosperity in the region, if the enabling environment was created by India.
Also read: Islamabad turns to Pakistani American for Biden-Imran call
Recalling collective struggles of Pakistan and the US over the decades in promoting peace and security globally, the official statement read, “the Senators deeply appreciated Pakistan’s recent contribution in the evacuation of the American nationals and others from Afghanistan post-15 August.” It said that the senators reaffirmed their commitment to a stable and broad-based Pakistan-US bilateral relationship.
“Given the size of Pakistan’s population as well as its geostrategic location, they emphasised, “the US and Pakistan should make determined efforts to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation.”
Also, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood welcomed the delegation to Pakistan and underscored that Islamabad valued its long-standing relationship with Washington. He added that the country wanted to further deepen bilateral ties with US based on shared interests.
He emphasised that deeper engagement between the two countries was pivotal for peace, security and development in the region. Highlighting Pakistan’s significance to geo-economics, the foreign secretary said Pakistan welcomed enhanced bilateral trade and greater investments from the US.
He hoped that US companies would reap dividends from Pakistan’s emerging market status.
The foreign secretary briefed the senators on the serious humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. He underscored that the international community must help the Afghan people avert the crisis through immediate support and financial assistance.
He stressed the importance of release of Afghanistan’s frozen financial resources. The secretary also informed the visiting delegation about Pakistan’s efforts to mobilise international support through multiple regional and international mechanisms and in this context, mentioned the extraordinary session of the OIC council of foreign ministers being hosted in Islamabad.
The secretary also briefed the delegation about unabated gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and underscored that the US Congress must play its due role in this regard. The senators, acknowledging the importance of long-standing Pakistan-US ties, affirmed the desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in its myriad dimensions.
The senators appreciated Pakistan’s role in the evacuation of US nationals and others from Afghanistan post-15 August this year. They stressed the importance of closer cooperation to support the objectives for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
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Good to see a lot for betterment of US-Pakistan relations happening behind the doors its a good sign for our future and we must promote and support better ties with US and its allies in the west. Despite all the negatives which is out there in media I am definitely hopeful that Pakistan s better future is ahead keeping in mind that we can t afford to loose the US train.