US envoy-designate vows to push for greater trade ties with Pakistan

Blome tells confirmation hearing of Islamabad's interest in diversifying ties beyond Beijing

The US Ambassador-designate to Pakistan Donald Armin Blome has said that Washington’s relationship with Islamabad remains extraordinarily consequential for the core interests of both the countries and vowed to work with Pakistan to resolve market access issues.

Speaking at his confirmation hearing at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Capital Hill on Tuesday, Blome said the US wanted to build a “better, mutual and bilateral” relationship between Pakistan and India, adding that the region could not afford another conflict.

“The [US] relationship with Pakistan remains extraordinarily consequential for our core interests. If confirmed, I will work with Pakistan to resolve market access issues, including concerns with Pakistan’s digital economy regulations, intellectual property protections, and contract enforcement,” he said.

“Pakistan is pursuing expanded economic linkages with the United States as part of what it calls geo-economics. We have a shared interest in promoting the role of US business and commercial interests in Pakistan’s economy,” Blome added.

Blome told the committee members that he would encourage Pakistan to promote more transparent investments through sustainable financing, with a focus on the environmental and social impacts of investment projects.

Read: Pakistan reaches out to US after skipping Democracy Summit

President Joe Biden named Blome – a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, who had previously had also served as political counsellor at the US Embassy in Kabul – as ambassador to Pakistan in October, months after a chaotic US exit from Afghanistan and return of the Taliban at the helm in Kabul.

Blome will be the first full-time ambassador in Pakistan in over three years, as the previous Donald Trump administration did not send an ambassador to Islamabad after then ambassador David Hale completed his three-year stint in August 2018.

Welcoming Blome to the hearing, the chair, Robert Menendez said that his nomination came at “this particularly challenging moment in the US-Pakistan relationship”, adding that the failure of the US mission in Afghanistan was “due, in no small part, to years of Pakistani double-dealing”.

Menendez alleged that Islamabad offered safe haven to the Taliban even as its militants targeted and killed US troops. “We need to have a serious conversation with the Pakistani government on the path forward, and I am confident that you will deliver a tough message to them, if confirmed,” he added.

Menendez also expressed his concerns over “an increasingly permissive environment for extremist groups to operate” in Pakistan, which “has also become an increasingly dangerous place for religious minorities”.

Blome said in his opening statement to the committee that the events in Afghanistan weighed heavily on him, as he had previously served as the top political officer at the US Embassy in Kabul between 2012 and 2013.

“Mission Pakistan also plays an important role on encouraging an inclusive Afghan government that respects and promotes human rights of all individuals, including women, girls and members of minority groups, and ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorism,” he said.

Read More: Islamabad won’t leave Kabul in the lurch

If confirmed, he added, he would prioritise the safe relocation from Afghanistan of any US citizens, lawful permanent residents, special immigrant visa applicants, and other Afghans to whom the US had a special responsibility, along with their family members.

He said that the US and Pakistan were both committed to combatting Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State’s local chapter, the ISIS-Khorasan, and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “If confirmed, I also will engage Pakistan on fighting all other groups – including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad,” he added.

The ambassador-designate pledged to work for lowering tensions between Pakistan and India, saying that he was encouraged by the continued ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. “The region can ill afford another conflict, especially between nuclear-armed states,” he added.

“Strong US bilateral partnerships with India and Pakistan are not mutually exclusive; we need productive ties with both states. Pakistan and India should decide the pace, scope, and character of their bilateral interactions.”

However, he was asked how the US could repair its ties with Pakistan, while working on counterterrorism. Blome said that it was in the interest of Pakistan that Afghanistan did not fall in the hands of terrorists again and he would encourage Islamabad to work with international partners.

He mentioned that Pakistan was a partner in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. In May, 2020, he recalled Pakistan donated 100,000 facemasks and 25,000 protective suits to the US and in return the US donated 27.6 million doses of vaccines and other items to Pakistan.

On climate, he said Pakistan had signed the Global Methane Pledge, announced a moratorium on approving new coal-fired power generation, committed to having renewables provide 60% of electricity generation by 2030, and was implementing a 10 billion tree planting campaign.

The ambassador told the committee that religious minorities in Pakistan had “long faced societal and legal discrimination”, adding: “If confirmed as ambassador, I will never shy away from defending human rights in Pakistan, particularly freedom of religion and expression.”

Read Also: Anarchy in Afghanistan will strengthen terror outfits: FM

Commenting on the allegations of blasphemy, Blome said that such “accusations undermined the rule of law, threatened mob rule, deeply damaged Pakistan’s international reputation, and led to murderous violence and many deaths”.

He promised to speak out against “these abuses and violations of human rights and religious freedom” and “urge the Pakistani government to cease harassment of journalists and members of civil society, who have faced kidnappings, assaults, intimidation, and disappearances”.

At the end of his opening remarks, Blome was asked how could Pakistan balance its ties with its closest ally China and the US at the same time, given the fact that India was partnering with the US in the four-nation Quad group.

He said that Islamabad had signalled very clearly that it was interested in diversifying its relationships with the Washington, treating US as key partner for its private sector. “Their stated aspirations of a geo-economic-driven policy demonstrates their interest in diversifying relations beyond Beijing,” he added.