ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Joe Biden on Friday met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at a reception the former hosted for world leaders in New York, where he expressed his resolve to continue supporting Pakistan after deadly floods, PM Sharif’s office said.
The US and Pakistan have witnessed a deterioration in their relations since the election of President Biden. The situation between the two countries did not improve even after the pullout of international forces from Afghanistan last August.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington further strained after former prime minister Imran Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April, accused the US of backing a campaign to oust him from power. Washington and Khan’s opponents, now in power, have repeatedly rejected the allegations.
The last time a Pakistani prime minister met an American president was in January 2020 when Khan met Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“US President Joe Biden expressed his resolve to continue helping in this difficult, humanitarian situation,” PM Sharif’s office said in a statement.
It said the US president extended his condolences over the loss of lives and sympathies to families affected by the deluges in Pakistan, it added.
Unprecedented rains and glacier melt in the north triggered deadly floods in Pakistan, which have killed more than 1,500 people, affected 33 million and caused widespread destruction across the South Asian nation since mid-June.
The meeting between Shehbaz and Biden took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
During his UNGA address on Wednesday, Biden said “Pakistan is still under water, needs help.”
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the US president for his condolences and sympathy,” the Pakistan PM’s office said, adding the premier especially thanked the US president for his message to the international community, in which he called upon the world to help flood-affected people in Pakistan.
