Daily Times

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire for a broad-based partnership with the United States that would advance the two countries’ shared interests in the bilateral and regional spheres.

The foreign minister held an interaction with the leadership of US House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Non-Proliferation, on the sidelines of his UN-related engagements in New York, Foreign Office said in a press release.

The foreign minister underscored the importance of enhanced bilateral trade and economic cooperation to promote regional connectivity. He highlighted Pakistan’s efforts for facilitating a peaceful, political settlement in Afghanistan while stressing that peace in Afghanistan was a shared responsibility of the Afghan parties and the key international stakeholders.

The US Congressman acknowledged the huge potential for expanding Pak-US bilateral relationship and agreed to work towards further enhancing engagement of the US Congress with Pakistan.

Separately, addressing a gathering of Pakistani-Americans, Foreign Minister Qureshi said Pakistan will negotiate to find a solution of the decades-old Kashmir dispute but will not barter away the inalienable rights of Kashmiri people. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan is deeply committed to the just cause of the Kashmiris and that his stand on the issue is unequivocal. “We will talk respectfully, but will not make a deal (on Kashmir),” he said, adding that Pakistan is open to dialogue with India aimed at peacefully resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

Past regimes in Pakistan, Qureshi said, had put the Kashmir issue on back burner, but the present government has revived it, citing PM Imran Khan’s forceful address to the UN General Assembly in 2019.

Qureshi, who led the Pakistan delegation to May 19’s session of UN General Assembly on Palestine, said his purpose and that of other foreign ministers from Islamic countries, who have come to New York, was mainly to raise voice in the 193-member body in an effort to seek an end to the atrocities being committed against the Palestinians. “By the grace of God,”, he said, “We succeeded in our first objective – a ceasefire.”

Replying to another question, Qureshi said there were deep similarities in Palestine and Kashmir issues – the people in both the entities were struggling for their right to self-determination; both suffered atrocities from their occupiers and both were resisting demographic changes and ethnic cleansing in their respective territories.

Lauding the important role of diaspora, the foreign minister said that Prime Minister Khan considered overseas Pakistanis as great assets who continue to uphold Pakistan’s interests in the international arena, and boosting its economy with ever-increasing remittances. He also praised overseas Pakistanis for helping to strengthen Pakistan-US ties, and said that efficient service delivery would be provided for them.

Qureshi said the government was actively working to legislate electoral reforms that would allow overseas Pakistanis to vote in national elections. “We want to give Pakistanis abroad the right to participate in elections in Pakistan,” he added, as applause rang out. The government, he said, was vigorously pursuing steps to ensure food and water security. He said that priority attention was being given to the critical water issue, citing that work was proceeding on constructing new dams. app