By Our Staff Reporter
Islamabad: A day after Pakistan snubbed Biden administration by walking away from attending the Democracy event hosted by President of United States, a high level delegation of US Senators arrived Pakistan on Saturday. Degation held meetings with Chief of Pakistan’s army and Prime minister separately.
On Saturday, delegation of US senators separately met Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, asserting America’s commitment to maintaining “stable and broad-based” ties and strengthening diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan.
The four-member delegation was headed by Senator Angus King and comprised Senator Richard Burr, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ben Sasse. All these senators are members of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, while Senator King is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
According to a press note issued from office of the Prime Minister, the premier underlined in the meeting that Pakistan valued its long-standing relationship with the US and was committed to expanding it in all spheres, particularly in the economic dimension.
The US senators, along with the US Charge d’ Affaires to Pakistan, also met COAS General Bajwa, according to a statement issued by the military’s media affairs wing.
The statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that matters of mutual interest, the security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed during the meeting.
“The COAS said that Pakistan desires to maintain productive bilateral engagement with all regional players and wishes for peaceful, diversified, sustained relations,” the statement said, adding that General Bajwa also stressed urgent global convergence on Afghanistan to avoid a looming humanitarian crisis there.
He also emphasised the need for coordinated efforts for the economic uplift of the Afghan people, the statement said.
“The COAS thanked the senators for their efforts in forging a mutual understanding of the geo-political and security situation in view of challenges ahead.”
The visiting dignitaries, the statement added, appreciated Pakistan’s role vis-a-vis Afghanistan, special efforts for border management and its role in regional stability.
They pledged to play their part in strengthening diplomatic cooperation between the US Pakistan at all levels.
Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood received a four-member delegation of U.S. Senate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today. The delegation included Senators Angus King, Richard Burr, John Cornyn and Benjamin Sasse.
Welcoming the Senate delegation to Pakistan, the Foreign Secretary underscored that Pakistan valued its long-standing relationship with the United States and wanted to further deepen bilateral ties based on shared interests. He emphasized that deeper engagement between the two countries was pivotal for peace, security and development in the region. Highlighting Pakistan’s pivot to geo-economics, the Foreign Secretary emphasized that Pakistan welcomed enhanced bilateral trade and greater investments from the U.S. He hoped that the U.S. companies would reap dividends from Pakistan’s emerging market status.
The Foreign Secretary briefed the Senators on the serious humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and underscored that the international community must help the Afghan people avert the crisis through immediate support and financial assistance. In this regard, he stressed the importance of release of Afghanistan’s frozen financial resources. The Foreign Secretary also apprised the visiting delegation about Pakistan’s efforts to mobilize international support through multiple regional and international mechanisms and mentioned, in this context, the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers being hosted in Islamabad.
The Foreign Secretary also briefed the delegation about unabated gross human rights violations against the Kashmiris in IIOJK and underscored that the U.S. Congress must play its due role in this regard.
The Senators, acknowledging the importance of long-standing Pakistan-U.S. ties, affirmed the desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in its myriad dimensions. The Senators appreciated Pakistan’s role in the evacuation of U.S. nationals and others post-15 August 2021 and stressed the importance of closer cooperation to support the objectives of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
All four Senators are members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, while Senator King is also member of the Senate Armed Services committee.
