US Congratulates Sharif on Becoming New Pakistani Prime Minister
By Jonathan Landay
Washington: The United States on Wednesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on becoming Pakistan's new prime minister following the ouster of his predecessor in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, with the top US diplomat reaffirming the "value" of the relationship between the two nations.
The warm tone of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement appeared to signal a desire to repair ties damaged by former Prime Minister Imran Khan's harsh anti-US rhetoric and his unproven charges that Washington engineered his dismissal.
"Pakistan has been an important partner on wide-ranging mutual interests for nearly 75 years and we value our relationship," Blinken said. "The United States congratulates newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and we look forward to continuing our long-standing cooperation."
"The United States views a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both our countries," he added.
Blinken's statement came two days after the Western-friendly Sharif, 70, took the oath of office following days of political turmoil leading to Khan's dismissal in Pakistan's first no-confidence vote since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
Khan, a former cricket star-turned politician, sought to derail the vote by dissolving Parliament and calling early elections after claiming that Washington was colluding with his opponents to oust him.
Khan, 69, provided no proof of his allegations, which the United States denied.
Pakistan's highest court declared Khan's actions unconstitutional and ordered the vote to proceed. A majority of Parliament's lower house supported his ouster on Sunday.
Despite Blinken's warm tone, analysts said they do not expect Washington to seek a significant broadening of ties, but to remain mostly focused on security cooperation, especially on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.
Analysts said they expected Sharif, the brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, to be preoccupied with pressing domestic issues, especially trying to contain a serious economic crisis.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Eric Beech; Editing by Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot. Reuters)
Pakistan Praises US for Felicitating Shehbaz's Election as PM
Pakistan on Thursday thanked the United States for the message of felicitations on the election of Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his PM election win. "The United States views a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both of our countries," Blinken added.
Soon after his election as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the need for cooperation with the United States.
“The new government wishes to constructively and positively engage with the US to promote shared goals of peace, security and development in the region,” the Prime Minister’s Office had said in response to a White House statement on Shehbaz Sharif taking over as the new prime minister.
"We thank the United States for the message of felicitations on the election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif," the Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday.
It said that Pakistan and the US have had a long-standing, broad-based and mutually-beneficial relationship, that we look forward to further deepen and solidify. "This is important for peace and development in the region and beyond," it added.
Ties between Islamabad and Washington touched a new low after former prime minister Imran Khan accused the US of conspiring to dislodge his government.
Imran based his allegation on a diplomatic cable in which it was reportedly said that a US State Department official had warned of consequences for bilateral ties if the no-confidence motion failed. – The Express Tribune
