ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi has stated that Pakistan will work closely with the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump.
\n\u201cWe will work closely with the administration,\u201d Tariq Fatemi said in an interview with The Washington Times.
\n\u201cWe believe that Mr. Trump\u2019s business background and strong interest in economic ties match the vision and policies of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,\u201d The Washington Times quoted Tariq Fatemi as saying in the interview, published on Tuesday.
\nMembers of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s national security team \u201cknow Pakistan paid a heavy price in terms of the successes of the United States\u201d in the region.
\nAfter years of tension and inconsistency in bilateral ties, \u201cthere is an element of normalcy and predictability within the relationship\u201d between Washington and Islamabad since Mr. Sharif came to power three years ago, Tariq Fatemi said.
\nThe volatility that plagued US-Pakistani relations under previous regimes in Pakistan has subsided, he said.
\nTo successfully deal with the serious challenges facing Pakistan and the U.S. in South Asia, the Trump administration must ensure that the relationship \u201cstay on an even keel and continue to progress gradually,\u201d he added.
\nTo a question, Tariq Fatemi rejected reports of pending major weapons sales between Russia and Pakistan but said Islamabad \u201cis exploring all options from all countries\u201d to arm his country\u2019s military.
\nHe said diplomatic outreach to Russia also is focused on burgeoning economic and political relationships.
\nPrime Minister Sharif\u2019s goal is to \u201cestablish mutually beneficial economic ties with all countries and now we are reaching out to Russia,\u201d he added.
\nAs Prime Minister Sharif has introduced a plan to construct a major oil pipeline from Pakistan\u2019s southern port city of Karachi to Lahore, Tariq Fatemi said Islamabad was weighing Russian participation in the creation of that pipeline, as well as power plant construction in the northern part of the country.
\nTariq Fatemi rejected reports that Pakistan\u2019s emerging military relationship with Russia was in response to India\u2019s closer military ties with Washington, but he did warn that \u201cwhatever or whenever America engages in these types of [actions], it has to bear in mind what kind of impact it will have on the region.\u201d \u201cVirtually all our weapons systems are American-made, which is what we would want,\u201d Mr. Fatemi said. \u201cOur first preference would be to obtain weapons from the United States,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe hope the administration will look at our request, with an eye toward what those weapons systems can do in terms of promoting peace and stability in a difficult part of the world,\u201d he added.
\nOn counterterrorism operations, however, Tariq Fatemi said Mr. Trump\u2019s views align with those of Pakistan\u2019s leadership. \u201cWe want people from the Trump administration to come to Pakistan and see for themselves the areas that have been cleared of terrorists,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi has stated that Pakistan will work closely with the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump. \u201cWe will work closely with the administration,\u201d Tariq Fatemi said in an interview with The Washington Times. \u201cWe believe that Mr. Trump\u2019s business background and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n