By Our Diplomatic
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Tuesday came down hard on India for raising unwarranted questions on Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with the United States and warned New Delhi to exercise restraint while touching on sensitive issues.
“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,” a foreign office spokesman said responding to media questions about uncalled-for remarks by the Indian minister for external affairs.
External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar recently called on Washington to reconsider its improving relations with Pakistan and was highly critical of the sanctioning of $450 million for the F-16 programme.
Jaishankar received a befitting response from the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price who said, “the relationship we have with India stands on its own; the relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own. We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbours have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible.’’
“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, and we look to both as partners because we do have in many cases shared values, we do have in many cases shared interests,’’ Price added.
In recent months Pakistan-US relations have become robust and Senator Dar set to become Finance Minister todaymultidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties. Both countries are constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security.
“India is strongly urged to respect basic norms of inter-state relations and refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties between the US and Pakistan. India also needs serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct,” the spokesman of the Pakistani foreign office said.
Early this month, the Biden administration approved a $450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the former Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad.
In a notification to the US Congress, the State Department said it had made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $450 million, arguing that it would sustain Islamabad’s capability to meet current and future counter-terrorism threats by maintaining its F-16s fleet.
In response to another question, Price said, “We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbours have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible. So that’s another point of emphasis.”
Asked whether Pakistan was aiding the Taliban, the spokesperson said it was “not in Pakistan’s interest to see instability and violence in Afghanistan”.
“The support for the people of Afghanistan is something we discuss regularly with our Pakistani partners; our efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods and humanitarian conditions of the Afghan people, and to see to it that the Taliban live up to the commitments that they have made,” he said.
“Pakistan is implicated in many of these same commitments: the counter-terrorism commitments, commitments to safe passage, commitments to the citizens of Afghanistan,” Price said.
“The unwillingness or the inability on the part of the Taliban to live up to these commitments would have significant implications for Pakistan as well. So, for that reason, we do share a number of interests with Pakistan regarding its neighbour.”
