WASHINGTON: The United States values its long-standing cooperation with Pakistan, the White House said as Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the country’s prime minister.
“We value our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan and have always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan critical to US interests. That remains unchanged regardless of who the leadership is,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference in response to questions about political development in Pakistan.
However, Psaki refrained from responding to questions on the possibility of a phone call between President Joe Biden and Sharif. “I don’t have a prediction of a call at this point of time,” she said.
“Obviously, those are assessments made day by day and especially after new leaders are elected. Of course, we have a long, strong and abiding relationship with Pakistan, an important security relationship and that will continue under new leaders,” Ms. Psaki said.
It must be mentioned that US President Biden, who was inaugurated in January 2021, did not call former prime minister Imran Khan during his tenure as prime minister. The relations soured after he blamed the United States for conspiring to remove him from power.
China congratulates Shehbaz
China congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the new prime minister of Pakistan and said it was looking forward to working with him to continue traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation and advance a high-quality building of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in new era.
“We congratulate Shebaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian remarked in response to a question.
He said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and comprehensive cooperation partners with rock-solid and unbreakable relations.
“China looks forward to working together with the Pakistani side carrying on our traditional friendship, resolutely supporting each other, deepening cooperation in various areas, and building a high-quality CPEC to build an even closer China-Pak community of shared future in the new era,” he added.
Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan on Monday after securing 174 votes from the 342-seat assembly, officially taking over from former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who lost a no-confidence vote.
