US willing to work with any govt chosen by Pakistani people, says diplomat

Elizabeth Horst says Washington has no preference for any candidate in Pakistan

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst has said that the United States is willing to work with any government chosen by the people of Pakistan.

Speaking at the International Conference on Diplomacy for Development organised by the International Academy of Letters in Houston on Tuesday, she made it clear that the US does not have a position on one political candidate or party versus another.

The US diplomat also said her country supports democratic principles, freedom of expression and the rule of law equally and around the world, including Pakistan.

She said Washington will not allow propaganda, misinformation and disinformation to create hurdles in the way of any bilateral relationship, including a valued partnership with Islamabad.

Horst also rejected allegations against Assistant Secretary Don Lu as categorically false, adding that we have communicated this publicly and privately.

Read Beleaguered PTI suffers blow in its strongest bastion

Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had approached US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu for a patch-up, a senior leader of the former ruling party said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should come up with evidence to support its claims.

Talking to a private news channel, Asif said that the PTI sought an apology from the US assistant secretary of state, documentary evidence of which was obtained by the government.

The defence minister said that the evidence pertaining to a meeting of a PTI leader with the US officials as well as the PTI seeking pardon from the US government were available with the government.

The startling revelation has come against the backdrop of former prime minister Imran Khan repeatedly accusing the top US diplomat Donald Lu of using threatening language in a meeting with a Pakistani ambassador when a no-confidence motion was being moved against him.

'Pakistan, US to achieve shared goals'

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan was also in attendance at the Houston event where he maintained that Islamabad and Washington will continue to work together to achieve the shared goals of peace and stability in the region.

He said the two countries have agreed to make joint efforts to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism, which is a bane for any society or vicinity. In this context, it is important to start US counterterrorism programmes for Pakistan’s capacity enhancement.

About Afghanistan, the ambassador said that stabilisation of Afghanistan is important for Pakistan and the US, adding that the Afghan interim government has been asked to restore women’s rights to education and employment.

He also expressed gratitude to the US for supporting the approval of Pakistan’s $ 3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF. He also expressed gratitude to Pakistani-American leaders for reaching out to US senators and congressmen to add their voices to the calls for early approval of IMF’s Pakistan package.

Talking about the Pakistan-US relationship, Masood Khan said that Pakistan and the US have a rich legacy of a cooperative relationship that provides a basis for building our ties in the emerging global and regional geo-political milieu. He said the countries need to liberalise visa regimes for enhancing people-to-people contacts and exchange of students, academics, business leaders and professionals.

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The ambassador said Pakistan’s priorities are to improve the ease of doing business, streamline regulations, ensure timely repatriation of profits, make trade dispute settlement efficient, and protect and enforce intellectual property. This is a work in progress.

He said the Pakistani government is working with the US to ensure vigorous growth of security and economic relations. He also welcomed the US enhanced participation in Pakistan’s infrastructure development, energy projects, agriculture, industry and supply chains.

Regarding Pakistan-US economic cooperation, the ambassador said that the US continues to remain the single largest export market for Pakistan.

"Despite the slow GDP growth this past year, Pakistan-US trade does not seem to have been affected significantly. Last fiscal year’s full figures are not in yet, but from July 2022 to May 2023, our total exports to the US are $ 7.5 billion, with $ 5.5 billion for commodities and $ 2 billion for services, including IT," he added.

About bilateral cooperation in climate change, he said Pakistan and the US have held intensive dialogues and taken decisions on stepping up cooperation in climate change, energy, health, trade and investment in the past six months. He said the two sides are working on mitigation and adaptation, energy transition, water management, clean air, climate-smart agriculture, biodiversity and waste management, including of plastics.

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Under the banner of Green Alliance, he said, the two countries are partnering to modernise Pakistan’s agriculture, develop high-yield, climate-resilient seeds and improve fertiliser efficiency. He appreciated the US support to Pakistan to restore the ecological health of the Indus River Basin and its offer to share weather data on the glacial melt.

Talking about Pak-US energy cooperation, he said Washington has contributed substantially to Pakistan’s energy grid by investing in Mangla, Tarbela and Gomal Zam dams.

"Electrical vehicles are gaining market share in Pakistan and we are committed to increasing renewables in our energy mix to 60 per cent by 2030. The time is ripe for the US industry’s support for green public transport infrastructure in Pakistan."

Shedding light on Pak-China relations, Masood Khan said that Pakistan has pursued connectivity through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to leverage its economic geography. He further said Pakistan’s defence and economic ties with China will continue to flourish in the future.