PM Imran’s visit to deepen Pak-US ties: WCOP

LONDON: World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP) Tuesday appreciated the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United States of America (USA) and hoped his tour would help strengthen bilateral relations between Islamabad and Washington.

"In my view, this trip is historic in many ways", Arif Anis Malik Executive Director WCOP said here. He said that Prime Minister Imran and his entourage flew to America on a commercial flight instead of a charter flight to save the national exchequer which should be appreciated.

Arif Anis said that the prime minister also delivered a speech to more than 30,000 American Pakistanis about the benefits of meritocracy, a relentless fight to curb corruption and laid out his vision for "Naya" (New Pakistan), words that energised the crowd of US-based expats Pakistanis. "Prime Minister Imran Khan also managed to get Kashmir issue back on agenda, which was a huge success", Arif Malik remarked.

He hoped that this visit would help deepen and strengthen bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States of America in various fields including economic development, trade investment and international issues.

Meanwhile, Mushtaq Lasharie, Chairman, The United Kingdom Pakistani Kashmiri Councilors Forum (UKPKCF), said that visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Washington was welcome step which has revived the past glories of Pakistan and USA strong relationship and would be beneficial in resolving the Afghanistan issue in the region. He said that under the leadership of Imran Khan, the democracy, judiciary and other national institutions were strengthening which was a good sign for the country.

Lashari also welcomed the offer of President Trump to mediate on Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India. He said Pakistan and India had gone for many wars on Kashmir but did not resolve the issue. The only way to resolve the issue was through table talks and US role in this regard would be a welcome step, he remarked.

Mushtaq Lasharie said that Pakistan had become an important geostrategic country and the initiation of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had further increased its importance internationally and in the region. He said that Pakistan was also important member of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).