Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi said on Saturday that Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Joe Biden have similarities in their priorities as both of them are committed to work on corruption eradication, money laundering, climate change and other issues.
During an interaction with reporters here, Qureshi stated that he had a telephonic conversation with United State Secretary of State Antony J Blinken last Friday during which he congratulated him on assuming charge of his office. He said that different issues were discussed during the conversation, adding that he informed the US secretary of state of priorities of the PTI-led government.
The foreign minister said that he told Blinken that Prime Minister Imran Khan had a vision that placed premium on forging economic partnership, building a peaceful neighborhood and enhancing regional connectivity. The US secretary of state was also informed about sacrifices of Pakistan in war against terrorism, he added.
He said that it had been decided during telephonic conversation to remain engaged and work together on advancing the two countries’ bilateral agenda and promoting common interests in the region and beyond. To a question, Qureshi said that representatives of United States and other countries have been informed about India’s activities against Pakistan, adding that a dossier has already been provided to the world in this regard.
Qureshi said Pakistan is committed to sustainable peace in Afghanistan and will continue to facilitate Afghan peace process. He said that peaceful political settlement in Afghanistan is not only in favour of Pakistan but also for the whole region. He said that Pakistan has played a role of facilitator to bring both parties on the table for dialogue, adding that these efforts will continue in future.
He said that eradication of corruption is one the top priorities of the incumbent government as economic stability is not possible without it. He said that the government has retrieved state land and other properties from grabbers during the last few weeks.
Replying to yet another question, Qureshi said that it will be the decision of Pakistan People’s Party if they nominate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani as candidate of Chairman Senate adding that PPP had not required numbers to elect him as senator from Punjab. He said that either he would let him contest from Sindh or they would prefer horse-trading to elect Gilani as senator. Qureshi, responding to another question, said that everyone knew that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will not resign from assemblies as PPP is not interested to leave government in Sindh. He said that opposition is confused about their action plan. He added that PML-N and PPP both completed their five-year tenures and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would also complete its constitutional term.
