WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani underscored that Pakistan was looking forward to work closely with the new US administration led by Donald Trump.
“Pakistan had a very comprehensive and meaningful discussion with the outgoing Obama administration. Those people who had been designated in the new US administration, knew Pakistan very well,” the ambassador said at a luncheon hosted by Pakistani Embassy in the honor of US Media in Washington.
The luncheon was well attended by correspondents from CNN, AP, LA Times, WSJ, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Reuters, Fox News, WP, Washington Diplomat, USA Today & BBC.
The ambassador Jilani welcomed the mainstream US correspondents, and briefed them on the state of play in Pak-US relations emphasizing that Pakistan and United States had a historic nature of relationship spanning over seven decades.
Jilani said that there was a convergence of interests between Pakistan and the United States on number of issues likely to strengthen the bilateral relations in future.
While answering a question, ambassador Jilani remarked that Pakistan had successfully launched a campaign of historical proportion to address the menace of terrorism. He expressed the hope that Pak-US cooperation would be further strengthened in the fight against terrorism by revisiting sale of F-16s and Coalition Fund issues.
The ambassador said that over the last few years, the terrorist incidents in Pakistan had reduced significantly, approximately by 70 percent with a positive impact on economy.
“Pakistan Stock Market had surpassed the other markets in the region. There had been a surge in the number of visitors from US to Pakistan which symbolized a renewed interest in Pakistan,” he said.
Jilani stressed Pakistan’s firm belief in having a closer cooperation in the region. He contended that the emergence of extremist and violent organizations was the outcome of instability & violence all over the world.
While responding to a question, the ambassador reiterated that Pakistan had not seen any organized presence of ISIS in Pakistan. However, he added, Pakistan was concerned about the growing influence of ISIS in Afghanistan.
On Indus Water Treaty, ambassador Jilani said that Pakistan had requested the World Bank to play the role of an administrator in terms of the legal and technical objections raised by Pakistan on Kishan Ganga and Ratle hydro-power projects in India. However, he added, India had requested for appointment of neutral expert.
Jilani said that Pakistan believed that the mandate of the neutral expert was limited. He said that the technical expert would tend to focus only on technical aspects whereas legal aspects would not be considered.
The ambassador Jilani reiterated that Pakistan would like to engage in a sustained, meaningful dialogue with India in order to resolve all the outstanding issues peacefully.
