-US Deputy Secretary of State discusses bilateral ties, Afghanistan and regional peace in meeting with FM
-Lauds Pakistan for helping Afghan refugees for over 42 years
-NSA informs US of massive Human Rights Violations in IIOJK
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that Pakistan wants broad-ranging, long-term and stable relations with the United States to promote economic cooperation and establish peace in the region.
He made the comments during a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman who is on a two-day visit to Pakistan. The two sides discussed bilateral relations, Afghanistan and the regional situation during the meeting, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.
Qureshi stressed that a proper dialogue between the two countries was “necessary” for mutual benefit of the US and Pakistan as well as the promotion of regional objectives, the FO statement said. The foreign minister said Pakistan and US had similar perspectives and stressed the importance of a peaceful solution to the situation in Afghanistan.
He further said Pakistan hoped the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan would work for the betterment of all Afghan citizens alongside peace and stability.
“A representative and inclusive Afghan government can be a trustworthy partner for the international community. In the current situation, there is a need for proper steps by the international community to ensure positive inclusion, provision of humanitarian aid and financial resources [to set up] a stable economy to solve the problems of the Afghan public,” the statement quoted Qureshi as saying.
The foreign minister also stressed on a solution to the Kashmir dispute for lasting peace and stability in the South Asian region while apprising the US delegation of the human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir. He also thanked the US deputy secretary of state for the country’s donation of Covid-19 vaccines to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Sherman offered condolences on the lives lost in the earthquake in Balochistan’s Harnai district a day earlier. She also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to evacuate foreign citizens from Afghanistan as well as its efforts for regional peace, the FO statement said.
The US official also praised the progress in talks between the US and Pakistan on climate change and alternate sources of energy. The meeting was also attended by US Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asian Affairs David Lu and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood.
In a tweet later in the day, Sherman said she discussed Afghanistan’s future and the important and long-standing US-Pakistan relationship with Qureshi during the meeting. “We look forward to continuing to address pressing regional and global challenges,” she added.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Friday said massive human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) by brutal occupant forces were a serious threat to peace in the region. The NSA stated this while shedding light on the IIOJK plight during a call on paid by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, said a news release. The delegations of Pakistan and the US discussed bilateral issues and the changing situation in the region during the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Moeed said the international community needed to talk and liaise with Afghanistan’s new interim government.
The discussions during the meeting focused on economic cooperation, trade, security in the region and Afghanistan situation was discussed. It added that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere, where the dignitaries vowed for better bilateral relations between the two countries.
The US delegation appreciated Pakistan’s role in withdrawal from Afghanistan and assisting the Afghan refugees. Separately , during an exclusive interview on PTV News programme ‘Shahrah-e-Dastoor’ on Friday Wendy Sherman expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, saying that it should be “very proud of 42 years of helping Afghan refugees” and the US, as well as the world, was grateful for that.
Sherman, who is leading a US delegation on a visit to Pakistan, lauded Pakistan’s role in this regard. In response to a question, she said she had visited a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Documentation Renewal and Information Verification Exercise centre here earlier in the day, where registration cards were being issued for Afghan refugees so that they could have access to facilities such as healthcare in Pakistan.
“It is an extraordinary system,” she said, commending Pakistan for persistently helping Afghan refugees over a long period of time.
Sherman was also asked about her comments about relations between the US and Pakistan during her visit to India. “It’s for a very specific and narrow purpose, we don’t see ourselves building a broad relationship with Pakistan,” she had said, according to reports Indian media.
In response to the question, Sherman clarified that by “specific steps” she meant that the purpose of her trip to Pakistan was to predominantly focus on the aftermath of events in Afghanistan and review bilateral relationships between the US and Pakistan. “The US and Pakistan have had longstanding relations for decades,” she said.
She went on to say that “this is a time of great change in [this] region because of the events in Afghanistan”, and the US and the world were reassessing what the future would look like and how to ensure a better future for Afghans and ensure that no country remained a safe haven for terrorists.
Sherman also assured that the US was willing to engage with Pakistan on “the wide-ranging agenda we have” and and the aftermath of recent events in Afghanistan. She added that the US was glad that Pakistan had called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and progress on this front should be made so as to “create a better life for the people of Afghanistan”.
“And we also agree that humanitarian assistance [to Afghanistan] should continue,” Sherman said, sharing details of measures taken by the US for this purpose.When asked about the Quad, a recently formed group that includes India, the US, Japan and Australia as members and perceived to be an alliance against China in the region, Sherman described it as a “cooperative effort” on matters such as energy and people-to-people exchange.
In this connection, she also clarified that the US didn’t ask countries to choose between itself and China. Acknowledging that China was a large economy and growing world power, she added, “What we do ask is that China plays by rules” in the international order.
