‘Strong Pak-US bonds significant for achieving peace in Afghanistan’

WASHINGTON: Ambassador to the United States, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on Monday that a strong and durable partnership between Islamabad and Washington was essential for ensuring regional stability, particularly ending years of conflict in terrorism-plagued Afghanistan.

He made the remarks while addressing a large gathering of South Asia experts, academics, opinion makers, US government officials and media representatives at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.

The topic of the event was “Broadening the Lens Beyond Security: The Next Few Decades of US-Pakistan Relations” during which Ambassador Chaudhry presented a strong case for Pakistan-US bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and commonality of interests.

He said that cooperation between Pakistan and the US-based on strong and durable ties was important to achieve the common objectives of peace and stability in the region, especially for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

The ambassador also outlined a number of steps Pakistan has taken to facilitate the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process in the war-torn country.

Pakistan has long been supporting global efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan and has time and again emphasised that there is no military solution to the long-running conflict.

Ambassador Chaudhry apprised the audience on the sacrifices and achievements of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.

Pakistan has turned the tide of terrorism at a time when the broader region was still grappling with this menace and this is evident by increasing presence of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, he said while highlighting the efforts and sacrifices of Pakistani people and security forces to defeat terrorism.

The improved security situation, the ambassador continued, contributed to the uptick in the economic indicators of the country and the economic strides have been appreciated by world bodies such as The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Ambassador Chaudhry also shed light on the enormous opportunities in Pakistan for foreign investment and said more US corporate entities have also shown a keen interest in taking advantage of the improved economic situation in the country.

Pakistan and the US need to work together to enhance the economic content of the relationship for mutual prosperity, he emphasised.

The ambassador also touched upon the various other aspects of the 70 years of the multifaceted bilateral relationship between Pakistan and US including the strong people-to-people contacts.