ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has invited a group of fifteen US lawmakers to visit Pakistan in June for consultations with their Pakistani counterparts on improving bilateral relations, Pakistani media reported on Sunday.
Qureshi traveled to New York earlier this week to attend an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly on Palestine.
In virtual meetings with members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the foreign minister told US lawmakers that Pakistan sought a broad-based, strategic partnership with the US, which would also cover Afghanistan.
He “invited a group of 15 US lawmakers to visit Pakistan in June for consultations with their Pakistani counterparts and officials on how to improve bilateral relations.”
During his meeting with the members of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Qureshi stressed the need for “a broad-based strategic partnership that looks after the interests of both countries,” Dawn newspaper reported.
“Such a partnership will improve bilateral ties and will also help protect mutual interests within the South Asian region,” Qureshi was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “Encouraging regional trade and development would also be good for US-Pakistan ties, he added.”
The foreign minister highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to promote “a peaceful political settlement” in Afghanistan.
“Peace in Afghanistan is a collective responsibility of all Afghan groups and of key external stakeholders,” Qureshi said.
Members of the House Subcommittee appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for peace in Afghanistan and praised the role of the Pakistani-American community in promoting US-Pakistan relations, a statement issued after the meeting said.
In a separate meeting with another group of lawmakers, the foreign minister discussed “the importance of regional peace and security in South Asia and suggested strengthening people-to-people ties.”
