Daily Times

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday dismissed speculations that US president-elect Donald Trump would try to “influence or pressurise Pakistan’s internal politics”.

Republican candidate Trump on Wednesday triumphed in a stunning US election victory over Democrat rival Kamala Harris.

Soon after Trump started his election campaign for the 2024 race, unsubstantiated reports began circulating on social media, stating that if Trump were to win the US presidential election, it would bring favourable outcomes for Imran Khan and US-Pakistan relations.

However, senior PTI leader and former central spokesman, Raoof Hassan, has asserted that no one in the party had ever thought that Imran would be released if Trump won the US elections. Calling the narrative “mere propaganda”, Hassan said that Khan’s release would only materialise after the PTI sat across the table and held dialogue with the powerful establishment in the country.

During a weekly press briefing of the foreign ministry on Thursday, Baloch was asked whether Trump, after becoming the president, would influence Pakistan’s internal politics and whether the Pakistan government would possibly be pressurised by his administration.

“We see this as speculative reporting, and as I just said, Pakistan and the United States are old friends and partners, and we will continue to pursue our relations on the basis of mutual respect, mutual confidence and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs,” Baloch responded.

She went on to say that Pakistan’s relations with the US were decades old and the country was looking forward to further strengthening and broadening the relationship in all fields.

“As the deputy prime minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”

Pakistan and the United States established diplomatic relations on August 15, 1947, making the US one of the first nations to recognise Pakistan. The two countries have had a multi-faceted relationship for decades in areas ranging from counter-terrorism to energy to trade and investment.

The US approach towards Pakistan has been called largely “paradoxical” due to varying US interests in the region. While the countries have continued to foster bilateral ties, the constant ups and downs reflect that their relations remain unpredictable when it comes to serving national interests.

In September, US President Joe Biden emphasised that an enduring partnership between Pakistan and the United States was crucial for global and regional stability.

“The enduring partnership between our countries is crucial for global and regional stability,” Biden said in his brief remarks, commending US-Pakistan cooperation in countering terrorism and stressing the importance of building on their shared interests in security, trade, investment, and economic growth.