Editorial

Resetting ties with US

FM Bilawal is apt as he says the relationship is broad-based and the synergies are in a positive direction

December 17, 2022

There is a new reset in Pakistan-US relations. Washington’s withdrawal from Southwest Asia and its disengagement from the region have led to new fissures. The resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan and the fact that non-state actors are regrouping have inadvertently created a space for collaboration between Pakistan and the US. This is where the new circumference is being studied as both the countries are eager to broaden their engagement in a positive direction by critically addressing counter-terrorism measures as well as geopolitics in the new era. Thus, Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari is apt as he says the relationship is broad-based and the synergies are in a positive direction.

The foreign minister, while talking to a media house in New York, made some pertinent points as he said that Pakistan’s bilateral intensity with the US and China is not for a competition, and it is “absolutely possible” to engage both in a cordial and constructive manner. This is Islamabad’s epoch-making approach wherein it wants to shun the impression that it is part of camp politics. While Pakistan’s spin towards Beijing is more strategic in essence, it has never undermined its allied-ally relationship with the US. That is why Bilawal underscored the necessity of interacting with the US in the spheres of climate change, health and empowering the women strata, eliciting rich experiences from the lone superpower.

While standing fast with the US, the foreign minister didn’t mince words as he cleared the air by saying that Pakistan is not ‘pursuing’ any discounted energy from Russia. This aspect has been a lynchpin in ties and was the bone of contention in the rupture of ties with the ousted government of Imran Khan. Though Bilawal’s stance on energy procurement with Moscow is in contradiction with his own colleagues in the Cabinet, the leap ahead that the young foreign minister has made all these months in galvanising relations with the State Department is laudable. The exit of Pakistan from FATF grey list and the reengagement in Afghanistan are an outcome of the new realisation in both the capitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2022.

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COMMENTS (1)

test | 1 year ago | Reply Pakistan will reset its ties with United States only on one condition and that is if United States move its factories and industrial manufacturing to Pakistan. That s it. In short they must be loyal to Pakistan and Pakistan will be loyal to them I mean its a two way relationship. If America like it then be our partner otherwise forget about resetting. Both Pakistan and US will volunteer their industrial and economical commitments and no one will be forced to do anything that doesn t suit the interest of either of the country. In short no one will go against each other when it comes to industrialization of Pakistan and Pakistan will open up itself for American corporation and businesses in order to comply with the free market economy to benefit from our relationship in the longer run and if that is the case then Pakistan will limit its relationship with China but since China is our closest ally we will still find ways to manage it so that it will not come into American way. For example we all know that China needs access to Indian Ocean we will give that access to China but we will not provide any bases now and also in the future to them that goes against American system but in return US must give Pakistan its industries and a fair share in global trade and we will limit our relations with China at the best.

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