Pakistan-US relations have become robust and multidimensional: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday defended its bilateral relations with the United States with the Foreign Office clarifying that this “longstanding and broad-based relationship with the US, has been vital in promoting peace, security and stability in the region”.

The ministry was responding to the recent critical remarks that the Indian Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar had been making in New York and in Washington regarding Pakistan. “These remarks are unwarranted,” said the Foreign Office when asked by media for a comment.

Jaishankar had criticised the Pak-US relations and commented, “Very honestly, it is a relationship that has ended up serving neither Pakistan well nor serving American interests well. It is really for the US to reflect what the merits of the relationship are and what they get by keeping it sort of continuing,” said Jaishankar.

Taking an exception to the recent support that the US has announced for Pakistan’s F-16s, he added that the US is not “fooling anyone” by saying that the support for Pakistan Air Force’s F-16s was meant for counterterrorism, and urged the US to reflect on its ties with Islamabad.

“In recent months Pakistan-US relations have become robust and multidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties. Both countries are constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security,” underlined the Foreign Office.

It strongly urged to respect the basic norms of inter-state relations and refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties between the US and Pakistan. “India also needs a serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct,” said the Foreign Office.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while speaking at an event in Washington to mark 75 years of US-Pak diplomatic ties said, “Diplomacy is back, here at the State Department and at the Foreign Office in Pakistan.”