Pakistan, US agree to upgrade economic, trade ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States have agreed to upgrade and strengthen their economic and trade relations as well as cooperation in counterterrorism and security domains, said the Foreign Office after the US Chargé D’affaires Natalie A. Baker met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar at the Foreign Office here on Tuesday.

“The two sides, inter alia, agreed to upscale and strengthen economic and trade relations as well as cooperation in counterterrorism and security domains,” said the Foreign Office after the meeting but did not give any further details.

This is the first high level meeting at the diplomatic level after the arrest and deportation of Afghan terrorist Sharifullah to the United States, in which discussions also took place on economic and trade relations, as Pakistan has wanted to focus on other areas of bilateral cooperation apart from counterterrorism and security matters.

Meanwhile, during the UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Afghanistan in New York on Monday, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram reiterated that Pakistan will continue to take “all necessary measures” to protect it from the terrorist outfits in Afghanistan, calling out Kabul for “failing” to address the threat posed to the region.

“Pakistan will continue to take all necessary measures to eliminate the terrorist threats to our national security in accordance with our right to self-defence under international law and in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,” he said according to the office of Pakistan’s mission in New York.

The ambassador asserted that the Kabul authorities had “failed to address the threat posed to the region and beyond by other terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, the TTP and Baloch terrorists, including the BLA (so-called Balochistan Liberation Army) and Majeed Brigade, which are present in Afghanistan”.

“The TTP, with 6,000 fighters, is the largest designated terrorist organisation operating from Afghanistan. It also receives external support and financing from our principal adversary,” he added without naming India. He said Pakistan had the evidence against the Kabul authorities that they “not only tolerated but were also complicit in the conduct of TTP’s terrorist cross-border attacks”.