WASHINGTON: Chris Van Hollen, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, believes that President Joe Biden’s “off the cuff” remarks about Pakistan do not mean that Washington’s policy towards Islamabad has changed.
“President Biden’s remarks have not changed US policy,” the Democratic senator said. He added that the US State Department’s clarification of the statement indicated that the presidential remarks were not deliberate.
Hollin said that the American administration under the leadership of Joe Biden wants strong relations between Pakistan and the United States.
The senator assured that we want integrated and stable relations with Pakistan. He further said that bilateral communication between Washington and Islamabad has increased after the devastating floods.
The US lawmaker also shared that he had spoken to the US ambassador to Pakistan about the floods and said that Washington was at the forefront of emergency aid to Pakistan.
The senator said that the United States is in constant contact with Pakistani officials on how to provide further assistance.
On PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s claim that an American conspiracy brought him down, the senator said the allegations of US intervention in bringing down the PTI government are false.
The senator said that it is something else to make claims in the election, but there is no truth in such allegations.
Pakistan most dangerous country: Biden
The US senator’s remarks came a few days after the US president accused Pakistan of a lack of coordination in its nuclear programme.
Biden called Pakistan “one of the most dangerous countries” and accused Islamabad of a lack of coordination in its nuclear program.
“Did anyone think that we would be in a situation where China is trying to figure out its role vis-Ã -vis Russia and vis-Ã -vis India and vis-Ã -vis Pakistan?” President Biden said at a reception for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Saturday [October 15].
Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden said he “understands what he wants but he has a lot of problems.”
“How do we handle it? How do we handle it in relation to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is probably one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without coordination. ” said the US president, adding that despite much to be done, America has opportunities for dynamic change in the second quarter of the 21st century.
Pakistani response
Pakistani officials held consultations before issuing a detailed official response. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly protested against Biden’s controversial remarks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a “strong” demarche to US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Bloom over President Biden’s “misleading” remarks about Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
Acting Foreign Secretary Johar Salim called the US ambassador to give the demarche, the ministry said. It said that the US envoy was informed of Pakistan’s disappointment and concern over the unnecessary remarks.
The ministry said that the US President’s remarks are not based on reality and facts.
The Secretary clarified that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and its nuclear program’s accountability and adherence to international standards and international best practices are well recognized, including by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Is.
“It was important to maintain the positive momentum of Pakistan-US relations and close cooperation between the two sides to build regional and global peace,” the ministry added.
