Chris Van Hollen, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that President Biden’s “off the cuff” remarks on Pakistan do not indicate that Washington’s policy towards Islamabad has changed.
He said, “Biden’s remarks were off the cuff and there is no change in American policy.” Hollen further said that the US State Department explanation of the statement showed that the presidential remarks were not made on purpose.
A couple of days ago, Biden alleged that Pakistan’s nuclear programme lacks cohesion. He also said that Pakistan was “one of the most dangerous countries” and alleged that Islamabad’s nuclear programme lacks cohesion.
However, a day later, the White House took a U-turn saying that there was nothing new in the statement of Biden.
Senator Hollen said that the Joe Biden-led US administration wants stronger Pakistan-US relations.
“We want integrated and stable relations with Pakistan,” assured the senator. He also added that bilateral contact between Washington and Islamabad had increased following the catastrophic floods.
The US lawmaker also shared that they had spoken to the American ambassador to Pakistan on the floods, saying that Washington was at the forefront of emergency aid given to Pakistan.
