ISLAMABAD
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan desires to engage with the new US administration for enhancement of bilateral relations, adding Pakistan is an important country that cannot be ignored by any administration.
On the eve of a change in the US administration, the foreign minister in a statement on Wednesday said that US President-elect Joe Biden has a clear perspective about the South Asian region. He said the two sides have conformity of views about Afghanistan and other priorities such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the strategy to deal with the climate change issue.
Qureshi said the United States had a bipartisan opinion about India, but it is welcoming that the new US administration has a clear stance about protection of human rights. He said the world is pointing out gross human rights violations in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He expressed hope the new US administration will play a role in getting stopped the Indian oppression against the eight million unarmed Kashmiris.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan is expecting the incoming administration to help Islamabad in “providing relief” to the Kashmiris from the military siege in occupied Kashmir.
The foreign minister said that a new world is being established out of which new priorities are coming forward. He added that Pakistan and the incoming US administration have a lot of “commonalties”. “There are many areas where the Imran Khan government and Biden government have a common interest,” he said. He shared the examples of climate change and the COVAX initiative.
“Challenges will be there. I’m not saying they won’t be there. We have to face the facts, but I believe Pakistan has a lot to offer,” said Qureshi, adding that Pakistan is an important country of the region.
Qureshi said the people being nominated by President-elect Joe Biden are those who know about Pakistan. He also shared that he had the opportunity to work with them when the Democrats were in power last time. “They understand the region very well,” remarked Qureshi. The foreign minister said that Biden, during his time as a senator, was a well-respected member of the foreign relations committee. “He has a very clear opinion about Pakistan and South Asia,” said Qureshi.
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