ISLAMABAD: United States President Joe Biden congratulated Pakistani President Dr. Arif Alvi on the South Asian nation’s Republic Day on March 23, the Pakistan president’s office announced in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
The nation observes Pakistan Day each year to commemorate a 1940 resolution that called for the establishment of an independent homeland for the Muslims of British-ruled India.
According to the Twitter post, Biden said the US-Pakistan relationship was grounded in a “common goal of regional peace & prosperity.”
He said the two countries would continue to strive for peace in Afghanistan and deal with the coronavirus pandemic and climate change together.

US President @JoeBiden congratulated President @ArifAlvi & Pakistani Nation on #PakistanResolutionDay. He said that US-Pak partnership is based on common goal of regional peace & prosperity. US & Pak would work for peace in Afghanistan, address COVID-19 and climate change. pic.twitter.com/JsVtlGa6Vs

— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) March 23, 2021

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III also spoke by phone with Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday and “expressed gratitude for Islamabad’s continued support for the Afghan peace process.”
Austin reiterated his country’s commitment to maintaining a “strong bilateral defense relationship” with Pakistan, according to a statement on the US defense department’s website, adding that he looked forward to enhanced cooperation between the two countries in areas of common interest.
Faced with a May 1 deadline to pull out its troops from Afghanistan, the Biden administration is trying to build regional pressure on the warring factions in the war-battered country to constructively engage each other and convince the administration in Kabul to give way to an interim setup to help move things forward.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Republic Day celebrations were dampened by a growing third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and bad weather.
The Pakistan army said a military parade, the center of yearly celebrations, had been postponed due to “inclement weather and rain” and would now be held on Thursday “as per program and timings already specified.”
State-run Radio Pakistan said the national flag was hoisted atop all major government buildings and all official events were held with strict adherence to coronavirus standard operating procedures.
Pakistan is in the midst of a third wave of the disease, and in the last 24 hours recorded 3,270 new infections and 72 deaths. 
The event was called off last year due to the coronavirus outbreak, though authorities decided to hold it this year despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
An investiture ceremony will also be held at the Presidency later in the day where President Dr. Arif Alvi will confer awards and medals on Pakistanis in recognition of their contributions to their respective fields.
March 23 is a national holiday, though authorities announced a local holiday in the federal capital on March 25 due to the postponement of the military parade.