Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday dismissed speculations that US president-elect Donald
Trump would try to “influence or pressurise Pakistan’s internal politics”.
Republican candidate
Trump on Wednesday triumphed in a stunning US election victory over Democrat rival Kamala Harris.
Soon after
Trump started his election campaign for the 2024 race, unsubstantiated reports began circulating on social media, stating that if
Trump were to win the US presidential election, it would bring favourable outcomes for Imran Khan and US-Pakistan relations.
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However, senior PTI leader and former central spokesman, Raoof Hassan, has asserted that no one in the party had ever thought that Imran would be released if
Trump won the US elections. Calling the narrative “mere propaganda”, Hassan said that Khan’s release would only materialise after the PTI sat across the table and held dialog
ue with the powerful establishment in the
country.
During a weekly press briefing of the foreign m
inistry on Thursday, Baloch was asked whether
Trump, after becoming the president, would influence Pakistan’s internal politics and whether the Pakistan government would possibly be pressurised by his adm
inistration.
“We see this as speculative reporting, and as I just said, Pakistan and the United States are old friends and partners, and we will continue to pursue our relations on the basis of
mutual respect,
mutual confidence and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs,” Baloch responded.
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She went on to say that Pakistan’s relations with the US were decades old and the
country was looking forward to further strengthening and broadening the relationship in all fields.
“As the deputy prime minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and
mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
Pakistan and the United States established diplomatic relations on August 15, 1947, making the US one of the first nations to recognise Pakistan. The two
countries have had a multi-faceted relationship for decades in areas ranging from
counter-terrorism to energy to trade and investment.
The US approach towards Pakistan has been called largely “paradoxical” due to varying US interests in the region. While the
countries have continued to foster bilateral ties, the constant ups and downs reflect that their relations remain unpredictable when it comes to serving national interests.
In September, US President Joe Biden emphasised that an enduring partnership between Pakistan and the United States was crucial for global and regional stability.
“The enduring partnership between our
countries is crucial for global and regional stability,” Biden said in his brief remarks, commending US-Pakistan cooperation in
countering terrorism and stressing the importance of building on their shared interests in security, trade, investment, and economic growth.
