KARACHI: United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to a “robust partnership” that benefitted both nations, the US embassy in Islamabad said.
Ties between Islamabad and Washington, once close allies, have just started to warm after some years of frosty relations, mostly due to concerns about Pakistan’s alleged support of the Taliban in Afghanistan, though Islamabad long rejected accusations that it failed to tackle the militants battling the Kabul government and US-led foreign forces from sanctuaries on its side of the border.
Relations strained further under the government of former prime minister Imran Khan, who ruled from 2018-22 and antagonized Washington by welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and later accusing the US of being behind attempts to oust him. Washington has dismissed the accusation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who took over after Khan and whose first term ended last year and second and ongoing term began in March, has vowed to mend ties but analysts widely believe the United States will not seek a significant broadening of ties with Islamabad in the near future but remain mostly focused on security cooperation, especially on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.
“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed our commitment to a robust partnership between the United States and Pakistan that advances the prosperity of both nations,” the US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement.
“Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of continued cooperation on counterterrorism, expanding our trade and investment partnership, and advancing women’s economic security and empowerment.”
Islamabad has long called for the expandsion ties with Washington beyond just security concerns and hopes to boost bilateral trade in goods and services, which the Pakistani embassy says totals about $12 billion currently.
Pakistan also hopes to attract more US investment, with a particular focus on food, IT and pharmaceuticals, after a long lull during which China became the dominant investor.
Pakistani officials say the country is well-placed to help diversify US supply chains that were dependent on China before COVID-19, but have started to shift toward other regional suppliers and could serve as a gateway to Central Asia.
