Pak-US ties should not be viewed only through Afghan or Indian lens: FM Qureshi

Published October 6, 2018
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addresses a press conference in Multan. — DawnNewsTV
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addresses a press conference in Multan. — DawnNewsTV

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday that the relations between the United States and Pakistan should not be seen only through the perspective of the Afghan issue or the ties with India.

Talking to media in Multan after returning from his 10-day visit to the US, Qureshi said he had tried to make his American counterparts realise that "it will not be appropriate to view our relations going as far back as seven decades from the Afghan perspective or the Indian lens".

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He said regional situations evolve and requirements change, but Pakistan's contribution for peace and stability in the region should be acknowledged.

Qureshi, who met US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton in Washington on Tuesday, said it would be wrong to expect that all differences between the US and Pakistan could be resolved in one day.

He said while it was not possible to cover the entire journey in one sitting, the Foreign Office will continue its efforts to represent the country effectively on international fora.

The foreign minister said he had neither gone to the US to seek aid nor was it part of any of the talks. He iterated that the funds for Pakistan cancelled by Washington earlier this year were "reimbursement, not aid".

He said foreign affairs is a component of government policy for which discussions should be held regardless of political differences, in the interest of the federation.

In response to a question regarding the arrest of PML-N president and opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif, Qureshi said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is an independent institution, which had taken the action after investigation.

He said it wasn't the PTI government that had instituted the case against Sharif, adding that "we have to respect the courts".

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