ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has urged Washington to forge balanced ties with South Asian countries and not “overly align” itself with India, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Sunday.
The US has increased its military and economic cooperation with India in recent years. Political analysts say Washington seeks closer ties with New Delhi as it sees the country as a counterweight to China in Asia.
Last year, during a visit by Modi to the US, the two countries announced a range of agreements on semiconductors, critical minerals, technology, defense and space cooperation.
Ties between Islamabad and Washington, once close allies, have recently started to improve after years of frosty relations, mostly due to America’s concerns about Pakistan’s alleged support of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies it supported the armed group in taking over the country.
“The United States’ policy to over-align itself with India negates the country’s traditional policy of maintaining strategic balance in the relationship with South Asian countries,” APP quoted Khan as saying.
Khan made these comments while speaking to Tim Horgan of World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, an American think tank.
The Pakistani envoy said Washington maintaining equal ties with South Asian countries would contribute to peace and security in the region.
Khan also noted that Pakistan and the US have “recalibrated” their relationship around the security and economic partnership clusters.
“When we talk about Pak-US economic partnership, which is all-encompassing, we also include climate change and issues like health care, education, people- to-people contacts, so that we could give strong sinews to this relationship,” the ambassador said.
Khan spoke about Washington’s relationship with China, saying the American leadership was handling it with “great care and wisdom.”
He said rapprochement between the United States and China, two traditional rivals, would be in the interest of the two countries and the world in general. He said Pakistan could play the role of an “economic bridge” in that regard.
“While the US was decoupling or de-risking, Masood Khan said it could relocate some of its industries to Pakistan,” APP said. “The United States could also manufacture in Pakistan and export its products and services to China.”
When asked about India’s recent economic gains, Khan said the country’s progress would be more “respectable” if it harbors good relations with its neighbors.
“India’s preference should be neighborhood first and it should be peaceful neighborhood,” the ambassador said.
