Says Islamabad should not be pushed into a place where \u201cwe have to make some very hard choices\u201d
\nislamabad
\nDefence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad does \u201cnot have any problem\u201d with the United States developing ties with India, provided that it did not come at Pakistan\u2019s cost.
\nHe expressed these views during an interview with News Week published today (Saturday) where he was asked about India expanding its relationship with the US, as well as ties between Islamabad and New Delhi, particularly in context of the Kashmir issue.
\n\u201cI think we do not have any problem with the United States developing a partnership with India if it is not at the cost of Pakistan,\u201d he said, adding that Pakistan wanted good relationships with its neighbours and regional partners.
\n\u201cWe have common borders with China, we have common borders with Afghanistan, Iran, India. We would like to improve our relationships with them if the relationship is not good. We want to live in peace. If there is no peace there, we will never be able to restore our economy the way we want to restore it,\u201d he said.
\nIn this connection, he also mentioned that Pakistan\u2019s was a \u201cvulnerable economy\u201d and not a very big one.
\n\u201cAll we have is a geographical location, which is strategic, which attracts, I would say, not all the good things, it sometimes attracts some things which really make us even more vulnerable.\u201d
\nAsif went on to say, \u201cI personally feel that some appreciation is required in Washington about our situation, and we should not be pushed into a situation where we have to make some very hard choices.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur relationship with America for us is very valuable. It has its history. It has some disappointments, some huge disappointments, but still we value our relationship with the United States and we want that relationship to flourish.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are big trade partners, we have a very large Pakistani diaspora in the United States and Pakistani interests over there. So, their business interests are also, considering our size, they are quite attractive and large,\u201d Asif said. \u201cThis is something which we have to balance and, under the circumstances, under economic pressures, we are finding it difficult, but we survive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defence minister\u2019s comments come ahead of US State Secretary Antony Blinken\u2019s upcoming visit to Beijing on June 18 and 19 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s visit to Washington days later.<\/p>\n
In recent times, US President Joe Biden has made deepening ties with India a cornerstone of his efforts to contain China\u2019s expanding influence, with his administration also hoping to persuade India to buy US military drones.<\/p>\n
US President Joe Biden\u2019s national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently said the US expects a \u201ctransformational moment\u201d in India ties during Modi\u2019s trip while one of Blinken\u2019s objectives in China will be to manage escalation to ensure that the world\u2019s two biggest military powers do not \u201cveer into conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n
Regarding Blinken\u2019s China visit, Asif expressed hope that affairs might improve between the two countries.<\/p>\n
He said it was difficult for Pakistan in the last few decades to maintain the \u201cbalancing act between our relationship with the United States of America and with the regional powers like China, our friends in the Arabian Gulf, Iran, and, of course, the Russian Federation also\u201d.<\/p>\n
Further, the defence minister said: \u201cThe international geopolitical situation sometimes becomes very difficult for us to balance between different interest groups, or different groups which are jockeying for power and international influence. And Pakistan being a vulnerable country, both economically and strategically, it becomes difficult for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll come back to my answer to your original question: once we have economic stability in our country, I think we will really be in a better position to handle this situation. Our vulnerability, economic vulnerability, actually exposes us to so many problems, which sometimes we are unable to tackle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says Islamabad should not be pushed into a place where \u201cwe have to make some very hard choices\u201d islamabad Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad does \u201cnot have any problem\u201d with the United States developing ties with India, provided that it did not come at Pakistan\u2019s cost. He expressed these views during an interview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[38],"class_list":{"0":"post-338408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-asif"},"yoast_head":"\n