Pakistan looks to mend ties with US after democracy summit snub

A few days after declining the US' invite for the democracy summit, top leadership in Pakistan on Saturday said that country values its relationship with the United States and was committed to expanding it in all spheres, particularly in the economic dimension.

This message was conveyed in a meeting with a delegation of US senators. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa separately met the US lawmakers on Saturday.

Pakistan Prime Minister called on the US to play its due role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. He said that a deeper and stronger partnership between the two countries was mutually beneficial and critical for the region's peace, security and prosperity.

"The Senators reaffirmed their commitment to a stable & broad-based Pakistan-US bilateral relationship. They emphasized that, given the size of Pakistan's population as well as its geo-strategic location, US and Pakistan should make determined efforts to promote trade, investment & economic cooperation," Pakistan Prime Minister's office said on Twitter.

He shared these views after a four-member delegation of the US Senate, comprising Senators Angus King, Richard Burr, John Cornyn and Benjamin Sasse.

Khan underscored the need to support the Afghan people by taking all possible measures to prevent a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse. He also highlighted imp of closer cooperation to address the security threats in the region, incl terrorism.

The US senators also met Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bajwa. Matters of mutual interest, the security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed during the meeting, according to the Pak military's media affairs wing.

"The COAS said that Pakistan desires to maintain productive bilateral engagement with all regional players and wishes for peaceful, diversified, sustained relations," the statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Pakistan has US ties has not been on the best of terms since US President joe Biden assumed office in January this year. Despite best efforts by Islamabad, Biden has not spoken to Imran Khan over the phone.

Earlier this week, Pakistan had turned down US' invitation to take part in the Summit for Democracy, a virtual event that took place on December 9-10.

The US had extended invitations to more than a hundred countries for the summit but China and some other countries are not included in the list.

(ANI)

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