Pakistan Views the US as an Important Partner
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at his weekly briefing on Friday that Pakistan viewed the United States as an important partner. He said Pakistan would continue to engage with both sides of the US political divide. That statement was made after the Democrats swept the US midterm elections, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
The briefing was the Foreign Office’s weekly briefing, and the spokesperson’s remarks on the United States were part of that briefing. The context was the result of the midterm elections in the United States, in which the Democrats swept the elections and the Republican Party suffered a setback. The spokesperson’s response was to state Pakistan’s approach: to view the United States as an important partner and to continue engaging with both sides of the political divide in the United States.
Key Areas of Cooperation Identified
The spokesperson identified trade, investment, security, counterterrorism and investment in minerals as key cooperation areas between Pakistan and the United States. Those five areas were named together as the key areas in which the two countries cooperate, and they cover both economic and security subjects.
Trade and investment are the economic areas named by the spokesperson. Security and counterterrorism are the security areas. Investment in minerals is named as a separate area, alongside trade and investment more generally. Together, the five areas describe the breadth of the cooperation that Pakistan sees as important in its relationship with the United States.
The identification of those areas is part of the same briefing in which the spokesperson spoke about the midterm elections. The areas are not new announcements of individual projects, but a summary of the fields in which cooperation is seen as key. They provide the substance behind the statement that the United States is viewed as an important partner, by showing where that partnership is focused.
Efforts to Prevent Renewed Escalation
The briefing also covered Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to prevent renewed escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran. That subject was part of the weekly briefing, and it was raised alongside the discussion of the midterm elections and the areas of cooperation. The spokesperson’s remarks on this subject concerned Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, and the aim of those efforts was described as preventing renewed escalation.
The three parties named in that context are the United States, Israel and Iran. The escalation referred to is renewed escalation involving those three parties. Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts are aimed at preventing that escalation from happening again, according to the account of the briefing. The briefing therefore covered both the bilateral relationship with the United States and the wider regional diplomacy in which Pakistan is engaged.
LNG Carrier Al Maida Struck Near Hormuz
The spokesperson confirmed that a Pakistani-linked LNG carrier, Al Maida, was struck by projectiles while transiting the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was carrying LNG destined for Karachi. No crew members were injured in the incident. That confirmation is a central fact in the briefing, and it is stated plainly: the vessel was struck, it was carrying LNG for Karachi, and no crew members were injured.
The vessel’s details were also given in the briefing. Al Maida is registered in the Marshall Islands and operated by QatarEnergy. It is described as a Pakistani-linked LNG carrier, and its cargo was LNG destined for Karachi. The incident took place while the vessel was transiting the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, and the vessel was struck by projectiles during that transit.
The spokesperson also described the signing of the Islamabad MoU as a significant achievement. That description was part of the same weekly briefing, and it places the Islamabad MoU in the context of the diplomatic work discussed in the briefing. The signing is described as significant, and as an achievement, which indicates the Foreign Office views it as an important outcome of that work.
Source: The Express Tribune
