WASHINGTON: Pakistan is looking forward to working closely with the new administration amid indications that incoming US President Donald Trump intends to be fully engaged in South Asia to advance peace and security and help resolve contentious issues between Pakistan and India, including the Kashmir dispute.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, is in Washington to have interaction with the current US administration and reach out to officials who are likely to join the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has announced nominees for 10 Cabinet jobs, subject to Senate confirmation, but there still remain 10 slots that await nomination, including the most prominent post of Secretary of State.
Those who have been nominated, or likely to be officially announced include retired General James Mattis for the post of Defense Secretary, Senator Mike Pompeo, Central Intelligence Agency, Jeff Sessions for Attorney General and Steve Munichin, for the Treasury. Nominations for Transportation, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development have also been announced.
In his interaction with the leading US print and electronic media, Fatemi underscored that Pakistan was looking forward to working closely with the new US Administration and wanted the bilateral relations to be further strengthened in future.
Once President-elect Donald Trump assumes his office, Pakistan would look forward to meaningful engagement with USA to further improve bilateral relations with the US both in the context of regional and international issues.
Fatemi stressed that Pakistan could play a significant role in promoting peace and stability not only in Afghanistan, but to the entire region. Pakistan has confluence of interests with USA and there was a solid track record of US and Pakistan working together over 07 decades to promote regional peace and stability.
The PM’s Special Assistant also apprised the media-persons of Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to putting an end to terrorism and militancy. Pakistan has lost about 5,000 soldiers in counterterrorism campaign. Pakistan has deputed more than 200,000 troops in its Northern Areas and along the Pak-Afghan border in this effort.
Fatemi also underlined the need for a sustained dialogue process between Pakistan and India to resolve their long-standing differences including issue of Kashmir. In an interview with NBC News this week, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said that Trump intends to be fully engaged with both Pakistan and India to promote peace in the region. He also suggested that Trump could play a role in resolving world’s contentious disputes, such as Kashmir.
The PM’s Special Assistant told the US media people about the widespread and homegrown uprising in Indian Occupied Kashmir which the Indian Government was trying to suppress by force and with massive human rights violations.
Over 16,000 Kashmiris have been injured and approx. 600 blinded by using special kind of guns known as Pellet Guns, aimed at damaging the eye sight of innocent Kashmiris. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations has increased during recent months. Moreover, these violations have targeted innocent civilians, which amount to a war crime.
Tariq Fatemi emphasized that Pakistan had made remarkable progress over the last 03 years. Since the current Government assumed power in June 2013, a new chapter began in Pak-US relations. The Strategic dialogue between the two countries was resumed and its agenda broadened.
He said Pakistan was an important democratic country in South Asia and had vital stake in the region and its stability and economic development.
Fatemi also gave a detailed account of the progress Pakistan has made after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Government assumed power. He said that all state institutions were working in sync with each other in the country.
He said Pakistan would be forthcoming in cooperating with new Administration in the US, in achieving peace in Afghanistan and improving Pakistan-India relationship for the sake of peace in the region.
Source: APP
