\u2013Cautions about serious perils of policy of imbalance in South Asia
\n WASHINGTON
\nPakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan said it was important that the US restores – for Pakistan – Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales, suspended by the previous Administration.
\nAddressing a conference on \u201cThe Future of Pakistan-US relations\u201d at renowned US thin-tank Wilson Centre in Washington, he cautioned about serious perils of policy of imbalance in South Asia. He also urged US to \u201crevive its role on strategic stability in South Asia\u201d.
\nHe said after a brief period of uncertainty, Pakistan and US were successfully recalibrating and rejuvenating relations in wake of changing circumstances. Terming Pak-US ties as \u201ca relationship of the future generations\u201d, he said the results in a short span of time were impressive.
\nReferring to frequent high level contacts between Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and US. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Pak-US dialogues on health, energy, climate change, counter-narcotics, counterterrorism and defence and the recently held Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Ministerial Council meeting, the ambassador said that these processes were producing results and defining pathways for future growth.
\nHe highlighted confluence of shared values and ideas that bind the people of Pakistan and the United States and brought them into alliances for advancing shared strategic purposes including rolling back aggression in Afghanistan and combating the scourge of terrorism.
\nThe ambassador said that Pakistan\u2019s foreign minister would be attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Conference in Goa in early May. He said his country valued the US encouragement to India and Pakistan to engage, but beyond that, the US could act as a catalyst to help resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute which has kept the region on the brink of war.
\nHe said that Pakistan sought to forge strong ties with the US and make them stronger and \u201cwe do not believe our relations with China should affect them in any way\u201d. He said, \u201cWe earnestly hope that the US, the shining city upon a hill, and China, an emerging power, using their statesmanship, will opt for cooperation and competition rather than confrontation that can plunge the globe into strife or worse\u201d.
\nHe said Pakistan offered to build bridges in good faith and facilitate communication between the two powers, if they so desire, as it did back in the 1970s.
\nAmbassador Khan in his remarks appreciated US assistance to Pakistan in generating green energy and modernizing its agriculture through Green Alliance observing that these measure would prepare Pakistan to respond effectively to climate-induced disasters and \u201ckeep ourselves in step with fast transforming global economy.\u201d
\nEarlier, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Horst said that Pak-US relationship was \u201cone of the most consequential for each other, for South Asia and for the world. Noting close cooperation between the two countries in a host of areas including trade and investment, climate change, security and regional security, Ms. Horst highlighted TIFA meeting setting the stage for greater interaction between the two countries in the area of expanding bilateral trade and investment.
\nDilating upon Pakistan\u2019s relations with the world, Ms. Horst said that \u201cPakistan is a sovereign country. It has made and always will make its own choices. It has a lot of partnerships. The United States respects that. She said a strong prosperous and democratic Pakistan is essential for the interests of both our countries and both our peoples. The best way to do that is through continued cooperation.
\nDirector South Asia Institute Michael Kugelman, President International Academy of Letters USA Mr. Ghazanfar Hashmi and other speakers including Dr. Hassan Abbas, Esperanza Gomez Jelalian, Ms. Kalsoom Lakhani, Mr. Baqir Sajjad, Ms. Jumaina Siddiqui, Ms. Ambereen Mirza, Rick Khan, Mr. Nasruddin Rupani and Dr. Asaf Qadeer also shared their thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2013Cautions about serious perils of policy of imbalance in South Asia WASHINGTON Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan said it was important that the US restores – for Pakistan – Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales, suspended by the previous Administration. Addressing a conference on \u201cThe Future of Pakistan-US relations\u201d at renowned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-328113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n