The United States and Pakistan share a lot of common interests to bolster and carry forward a close cooperative relationship, former Pakistani senator and author Javed Jabbar said.
Speaking at the American University, Jabbar cited both economic and security reasons in the bilateral, regional and broader international contexts that must bind the two nations together.
Jabbar, a leading media expert and former information minister, delivered a lecture, hosted by Professor Akbar S Ahmed’ Ibn Khaldun chair of Islamic Studies.
Despite differences on some ongoing issues, Jabbar saw both Washington and Islamabad conscious of this imperative of mutually beneficial relationship, even as American engagement in the region transitions and the U.S. moves toward a high-stakes 2016 presidential election.
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“Both countries think they are indispensable to each other, and I have strong reasons to believe they will improve the bilateral relationship,”Jabbar noted as he spelled out wide-ranging reasons and the promise of closer bilateral ties, which have had their ups and downs in recent years due to Afghan conflict on Pakistan’s western border.
Although Pakistan’s role for security and stability in Afghanistan and its strategic significance vis-a-vis Chinese, Russian and Indian engagement amplifies with each passing day, it is the commonalities and longstanding linkages between the two countries that would anchor the relationship.
For example, he said, in spite of Pakistan expanding its trding with several countries, the US remains its largest export destination with over $ 5 billion in exports.
Similarly, American business giants including Coca Cola, fast food chains, and many other companies are reaping tremendous profits.
“Pakistanis overwhelmingly like and buy American products and services,” he said.
Jabbar, who produced a prominent film Ramchand Pakistani, and is a respected cultural voice, also referred to democratic and creative abilities of the Pakistanis that make people appreciate American democratic freedoms.
He also touched on Pakistan’s unique origins, political systems and the underlying spirit for freedom that Pakistanis have maintained despite challenges to democracy in the past.
