Won’t make any promise with US which we can’t fulfill: Qureshi

WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said Pakistan won’t make any promises with the US which it could not fulfil.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Washington this week seeks to reset Pakistan-US ties with a focus on expanding bilateral cooperation in place of the Afghanistan-centred relations of the last several years. He said the premier will fight Pakistan’s case in the US. “We are here to reset our bilateral relationship,” the minister told a press briefing ahead of Prime Minister Khan’s arrival in the US capital on the invitation of President Donald Trump.

Qureshi said the prime minister’s tomorrow’s (Monday) talks with President Trump at the White House would highlight points of convergence where cooperation could be mutually beneficial. “We want to take forward an environment of trust and cooperation that has developed between the two countries from a low point in the ties. Pakistan’s relations with the United States have shown a gradual improvement under Imran Khan government, which has cooperated with the Trump Administration’s goal of resolving the Afghan conflict through negotiations involving the Afghan Taliban. The relationship has moved from coercion to cooperation,” Qureshi said, referring to meetings between chief diplomats of the two countries and the Trump Administration’s praise for Pakistan’s role towards pushing Afghan peace process. “We have a realistic and pragmatic approach to Pakistan-US relations. I do not want to raise unrealistic expectations. The basis is going to be honesty,” he said.

Besides a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Trump, the two sides will have extended discussions at the White House. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also accompany Imran Khan to bilateral engagements during the visit. Qureshi said Imran Khan’s government is not begging for aid but wanted to cement economic and investment cooperation. “We will not compromise on Pakistan’s national interests,” Qureshi said. He said he saw a visible change in the environment conducive to enhancing Pakistan-US ties since the two sides started a series of diplomatic engagements in 2018 and Pakistan’s cooperation with the United States on the question of Afghan peace.

The foreign minister explained as the US goes for a political solution in Afghanistan and extricates itself from the conflict, there will be greater space for a focus on expanding Pakistan-US bilateral relations in potential areas of interest. Qureshi listed a number of areas of convergence between Islamabad and Washington including desire for peace in Afghanistan and a peaceful South Asia, which he said, had remained behind other developing regions due to absence of durable peace. On Kashmir, he said, it was a flashpoint. Citing recent UN reports about the human rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir, he said there is much greater international understanding about the gravity of the situation in the UN-recognised disputed territory. In this context, Qureshi acknowledged the US role on defusing Pakistan-India standoff in the wake of Pulwama attacks.

He said Pakistan wanted a mutually beneficial economic relationship with the United States and Prime Minister Imran Khan would showcase Pakistan’s investment potential. He also referred to Pakistan’s relations with China and said Pakistan is open to US investment in China Pakistan Economic Corridor. “They are welcome to come and invest,” he said of the possibility of US being part of the investments in economic zones.