ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged India to refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties with the United States.
“India is strongly urged to respect basic norms of inter-state relations and refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties between the US and Pakistan. India also needs serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar.
The spokesperson was responding to media queries about unwarranted remarks by the Indian Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar had raised questions over the “merits” of the US-Pakistan relationship, saying that Washington’s ties with Islamabad had not served the “American interest”.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan had longstanding and broad-based relationship with the United States, which had been vital in promoting peace, security and stability in the region.
“In recent months Pakistan-U.S. relations have become robust and multidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties,” he said, adding that both countries were constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate meetings with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Indian Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar on the same day.
The United States also responded to India’s objections to Washington’s move to provide Pakistan $450 million for refurbishing the country’s F-16 fighters fleet to deal with terrorist threats, saying both South Asian nations are “our partners.”
“We don’t view our relationship with Pakistan, and on the other hand, we don’t view our relationship with India as in relation to one another,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price told his daily press briefing. “These are both partners of ours with different points of emphasis in each,” he said, amid warming US-Pakistan relations.
Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticized the US decision, saying his government had conveyed that the fighter jets were allegedly used for operations against India.
“We look to both (India and Pakistan) as partners, because we do have in many cases shared values. We do have in many cases shared interests. And the relationship we have with India stands on its own. The relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own,” Ned Price remarked.
Early this month, the Biden administration approved a $450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the former Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad.
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