US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry

 

Fawad Continues PTI Efforts to Mend Fences with US
By Ikram Junaidi

Islamabad: Weeks after his party chief  announced his desire  to mend relations with the US — despite previously accusing it of treating Pakistan as a slave and claiming it conspired to remove him as prime minister — Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Fawad Chaudhry met US Ambassador Donald Blome at the US embassy in the federal capital on Tuesday.

“It was a routine meeting; nothing special about it,” Mr Chaudhry said when asked by  Dawn to confirm the meeting. However, he chose not to respond when asked whether anyone else had accompanied him during the interaction.

According to media reports, Mr Chaudhry’s meeting with Mr Blome lasted for almost an hour and it was reportedly his second meeting with the US diplomat this month.

A few months ago, PTI chief Imran Khan had  accused  the US of engineering his ouster on the basis of a diplomatic cipher sent by a Pakistani diplomat based in Washington. He is also on record as asking why legislators from the then-opposition parties had allegedly met US diplomats on different occasions, describing these meetings as ‘unethical’ and ‘unnecessary’.

Mr Khan’s insinuations were greeted with disdain in official circles at the time, as it has been fairly common practice for foreign diplomats to meet politicians from both government and opposition camps. Given their nature, the details of such meetings are rarely shared with the media…. - Dawn

The News adds: … In an  interview with the Financial Times  earlier this month, (PTI chief Imran) Khan said that "he no longer blames the US and wants dignified ties with the country if he comes back to power".

Referring to the alleged conspiracy, Khan said "it was over".

“As far as I’m concerned it’s over, it’s behind me. The Pakistan I want to lead must have good relationships with everyone, especially the United States," he said.

“Our relationship with the US has been as of a master-servant relationship, or a master-slave relationship, and we’ve been used like a hired gun. But for that I blame my own governments more than the US," the publication quoted the former premier as saying. – The News