Daily Times

BOSTON: Ambassador Masood Khan has said that Pakistan and the United States were reshaping their partnerships in critical areas of trade, investment, green energy, infrastructure, health and education. The emphasis, he said, was on promoting people to people exchanges.

“After recalibrating our relations beyond Afghanistan and the wars we have fought together, we would continue to counter terrorism and foster regional stability,” said Pakistan’s envoy to the United States.

Addressing a two-day conference, “Pakistan at 75”, organized by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute of prestigious Harvard University at Boston, Pakistan’s top envoy said that the core foreign policy principles of the country were: peace, regional equilibrium, strategic balance, shared prosperity, connectivity and win-win partnerships.

Underscoring the highest importance that Pakistan attaches to its partnership with the United States, Masood Khan said that the US has always been a preferred source for technical knowhow and military equipment and a top destination for Pak exports, which jumped from $7 to $ 9 billion last year.  “Nearly one million Pakistani Americans are a strong bridge between our two nations,” he continued.

Highlighting recent momentum in strengthening and diversifying Pak-US partnership, Masood Khan said that the two countries were making efforts to build solid foundations for their economic collaboration that would  not only serve the people of two countries but also contribute to regional stability and prosperity.

He noted that the launch of the Green Alliance, a successor to the Green Revolution of the 1960s, would advance Pak-US cooperation in hybrid seeds, biotechnology and synthetic engineering.

The Ambassador highlighted that the number of Pakistani students enrolled in the US had increased by 17% to 8,000 this year. “Still modest. It would grow further in the STEM disciplines and new technologies,” he added.

“The outlook is bright, as the US has de-hyphenated its relationship with Pakistan from Afghanistan, India and even China. It is now a stand-alone relationship.”

On Sino-Pak relations, Masood Khan reiterated that the United States had not asked Pakistan to make a binary choice between Washington and Beijing. “Pakistan’s relations with China would continue to grow but not at the expense of the United States. We know that the US and China are the most co-dependent nations themselves” the pakistan envoy said.

On relations with India, Masood Khan said that Pakistan wanted peaceful relations with India. “We realize that a cohesive, economically integrated South Asia will benefit its people and the entire globe,” he said.

Underscoring the need for resolution of all issues including the longstanding issue of Kashmir, Ambassador Khan said that “let’s not try to sweep the issues that divide us under the carpet. This has not worked in the past; it will not work in future.” “Through diplomacy, let’s put the whole range of issues – Kashmir, waters, strategic stability – on the table and strive to resolve them.”

“Peace would remain elusive if there is no dialogue for confidence building, effective communication and responsible stewardship,” he said.

Masood Khan said that the nuclear programme had given strategic heft and protection to Pakistan, a firewall of deterrence that safeguards it against aggression.

The Ambassador said that Pakistan had a persona beyond South Asia – its extended neighbourhood – East Asia, including North and South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The Ambassador appreciated South Asia Institute for organizing the conference and providing the speakers an opportunity to share their thoughts about various facets of Pakistan.