ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi today said that Pakistan wants long-term stable and broad-based bilateral ties with the United States to enhance diplomatic and economic cooperation in the region.
He stated this in a meeting with Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State, who is on a two-day visit to Pakistan. Both the sides discussed bilateral relations, Afghanistan and the regional situation during the meeting, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.
FM 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.
A day earlier, National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf, in a meeting with the US deputy secretary of state, stressed that the international community “must maintain contact” with the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan.
During the meeting both sides expressed the desire to promote bilateral relations between the United States and Pakistan.
They also discussed economic cooperation as well as the security situation in the region, it added.
According to the report, the US delegation appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan and the help it extended to Afghan refugees.
