‘Pak-US ties turning into strategic partnership’

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Qureshi says Islamabad and Washington want to develop multifaceted bilateral ties
* Says Islamabad ‘genuinely’ wants to normalise relations with New Delhi

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday underlined that the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue has begun a ‘significant process’ where the Pakistan-US bilateral relationship has started moving from being a merely transactional to a strategic partnership.

He said Pakistan and the US have now agreed to develop multifaceted bilateral ties on the basis of mutual interest, respect and trust. Qureshi expressed these views during a meeting with a group of former Pakistani foreign secretaries and ambassadors at the Foreign Office (FO) to exchange views on important foreign policy issues, including Pakistan’s relations with India, the recently held Pakistan-US strategic dialogue and the upcoming Pakistan–European Union (EU) Summit to be held in Brussels next month.

Sovereign equality: He briefed the group about Pakistan’s principled position on issues with India, stressing that Islamabad genuinely wanted to normalise its relations with New Delhi on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It is necessary that Pakistan and India revert to a meaningful and structured dialogue process, as this was the only way forward, Qureshi added.

On the upcoming Pak–EU Summit in Brussels, the FM said that Pakistan attached immense importance to its relations with the EU. The forthcoming summit will provide an opportunity to strengthen interaction with the EU, he added.

The participants appreciated Qureshi’s efforts for aligning the country’s foreign policy with Pakistan’s long-term security and development interests. They said that the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India has produced good results, adding that it is in the interest of both countries to resume a result-oriented dialogue. They also agreed that Islamabad’s ties with Washington were important and that the government’s efforts towards evolving a strategic partnership were heading in the right direction.