ISLAMABAD
Pakistan has strongly urged India to respect basic norms of inter-state relations and refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties between the United States and Pakistan.
Responding to media questions about unwarranted remarks by the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan has a longstanding and broad-based relationship with the United States, which has been vital in promoting peace, security and stability in the region.
“India needs serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct,” Asim Iftikhar remarked. He said in recent months Pakistan-U.S. relations have become robust and multidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties. Both countries are constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security.
“In recent months Pakistan-U.S. relations have become robust and multidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties,” he said. The Spokesperson said India also needs serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct.
Earlier, Indian Minister for External Affairs S.Jaishankat had raised questions over the “merits” of the US-Pakistan relationship, saying that Washington’s ties with Islamabad had not served the “American interest”. The Foreign office said both countries were constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security.
On the other hand, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price during the State Department’s press briefing stated that India and Pakistan are both partners of the US with different points of emphasis the administration said a day after visiting External Affairs Minister Jaishankar questioned the rationale behind the latest American F-16 security assistance to Islamabad.
He was responding to a reporter’s question regarding the comment made by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar asking the US to review its relations with Pakistan and criticized the Biden administration for authorizing $450 million for the F-16 program.
Jaishankar had that said everybody knows where and against whom F-16 fighter jets are used. “You’re not fooling anybody by saying these things,” he said in response to a question during an interaction with Indian-Americans.
“We don’t view our relationship with Pakistan, and on the other hand, we don’t view our relationship with India as in relation to one another. These are both partners of ours with different points of emphasis in each,” Ned Price told reporters at his daily news briefing.
“We look to both as partners, because we do have in many cases shared values. We do have in many cases shared interests. And the relationship we have with India stands on its own. The relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own,” he said. =DNA
