PM’s aide in Washington to push for ties reset

Sources say Tariq Fatami was sent to US to garner US support for IMF deal

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatami on Thursday met with United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Washington as part of stepped-up efforts by both sides to reset their troubled relationship.

Fatimi is the second senior official to have visited the US following Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in May in New York where he held a face-to-face meeting with Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune that Fatami was in Washington to lobby for a possible meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Joe Biden during the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September.

Fatami, according to sources, was also sent to Washington to seek the Biden administration’s help to persuade the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for showing flexibility in some of the tough conditions attached to the revival of the bailout programme.

There was a sense within the coalition government that the IMF was not giving any relief or space to Pakistan given the current economic difficulties compounded by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Fatami, who previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, is a key aide of Prime Minister Sharif and even previously worked with his elder brother Nawaz Sharif advising him on foreign policy matters.

A state department spokesperson confirmed that US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman met with Fatami. She “reaffirmed our shared goals for enhancing” the US-Pakistan relationship by advancing economic and commercial ties and health cooperation.

According to the statement, Sherman and Fatami also discussed Pakistan-US “coordination on Afghanistan, regional stability and the devastating effects of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on food security in Pakistan and worldwide”.

There was no official statement or word yet from the Pakistani side but the presence of Fatami highlights efforts to reset ties with the US.

Relations between Pakistan and the US remained tense during former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s time. President Joe Biden never spoke to Imran – something suggested a growing rift between the two countries.

What further strained the relationship between the two were allegations by Imran that he was ousted from power through a US conspiracy. Washington has consistently denied the charge.

Imran’s allegations were based on a secret diplomatic cable sent by the then-Pakistan ambassador to Washington in March. The cable details Asad Majid’s meeting with US Under Secretary of State for South Asia Donald Lu. In that meeting, the US officially allegedly threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if the vote of no confidence against Imran did not succeed.

Despite military leadership’s categorical statement that they had found no evidence of any conspiracy, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman is adamant that he was ousted from power through a conspiracy.

But since the change of government, there have been efforts on both sides to revive their relationship with frequent visits from both sides. The US, however, is moving cautiously since it is not sure about the current government’s future.

There will be more exchanges between the two countries, but high-level contact may not take place as the Biden administration would not like to engage at the highest level at a time when there is political instability and even parliamentary elections are not far away.

Nevertheless, the two sides are willing to work closely with each other, particularly on areas of mutual interests.