- “US will look for opportunities to work with the new government to advance goals of security, stability and prosperity in South Asia” — US State Department
- Kashmir lauds Imran Khan as new prime minister of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The US has welcomed Pakistan’s election results and expressed a keenness to work with the new government under the leadership of Imran Khan to further its goals of security and stability in South Asia, the US State Department said on Thursday.
In an official statement, department spokesperson Heather Nauert said: “As Pakistan’s elected leaders form a new government, the United States will look for opportunities to work with them to advance our goals of security, stability, and prosperity in South Asia.”
Imran Khan, in his victory speech, acknowledged that he was confronted with a “very big foreign policy challenge.”
“Pakistan’s relationship with the US should be mutually beneficial ... up until now, that has been one way. We will opt for balanced relations with the US,” he said.
Washington will be working closely with Islamabad, given the two countries’ relationship in light of the US strategy for South Asia and the issue of Afghan peace talks, the US official said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Tuesday also welcomed the new prime minister, saying that his country was ready to work with the Pakistani government to stay committed to consolidating political mutual trust, deepening across-the-board practical cooperation and making progress in its all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
Khan vowed to strengthen relations with China, especially given the huge investment made by the country in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“We want to learn from China, how they brought 700 million people out of poverty ... The other thing we can learn from China is ... the measures they have taken against corruption, how they have arrested more than 400 ministers there,” he said.
Commenting on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Shuang said that the economic corridor was a strategic cooperation framework set out by the leaders of the two countries with a view to long-term development. CPEC, he said, aimed to strengthen the dynamics of growth for Pakistan, elevate China-Pakistan all-round cooperation and achieve common development and prosperity.
Khan also expressed disappointment about how the Indian media had portrayed him. “I was saddened in the past few days how the media in India portrayed me as a Bollywood film villain. It seemed like India feared everything bad would happen if Imran Khan came into power. I am the Pakistani who has the most familiarity with India, I have been all over that country.”
He said that the stalemate between the countries had to come to an end. “I think it will be very good for all of us if we have good relations with India. We need to have trade ties, and the more we will trade, both countries will benefit … We are at square one right now (with India). If India’s leadership is ready, we are ready to improve ties with India. If you step forward one step, we will take two steps forward.”
While India has yet to give an official statement recognizing the newly elected government in Pakistan, former minister Mani Shankar Aiyar urged India to resume talks with Pakistan. He noted that Hafiz Saeed’s Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek fielded 50 candidates, and all of them lost.
“More significant than who won is who lost,” the former minister said.
On Kashmir, Khan said: “The unfortunate truth is that Kashmir is a core issue (between India and Pakistan), and the situation in Kashmir, and what the people of Kashmir have seen in the past 30 years ... they have really suffered. Pakistan and India’s leadership should sit at a table and try to fix this problem. It’s not going anywhere.”
Kashmir Council European Union (KCEU) Chairman Ali Raza Syed, in a statement in Brussels, praised Imran Khan’s speech, specially its part on Kashmir, and congratulated him over his party’s victory in the general elections.
Syed said that Khan’s stance in his first speech showed that he gave importance to the Kashmir dispute and hoped that prior to any decision on the issue he would take the Kashmiri leadership into his confidence.
He also asked India to stop human rights violation in occupied Kashmir and give a positive response to Khan’s stance on Kashmir. He said that the Kashmiri leadership should be part of any dialogue aimed at settling the Kashmir dispute.
“Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and Kashmiris who suffered for the past seven decades are a basic party to the dispute,” he said.