Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan on Thursday appreciated the Trump Administration’s role in de-escalating Pakistan-India tensions as he discussed the situation with Senator Mitt Romney, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on South Asia.
Khan said Pakistan’s maturity and restraint during the standoff has defused the South Asian situation but cautioned that “lasting peace and stability in South Asia would remain elusive as long as India continues to deny the people of Occupied Kashmir their legitimate right to self-determination.”
Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate, also serves on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, thanked thee Pakistani ambassador for the briefing on the latest situation.
According to the Pakistani embassy in Washington D.C., Ambassador Khan said Pakistan desired a long-term and broad-based partnership with the United States, which had historically been a factor for stability in South Asia.
“The restraint and maturity shown by Pakistan’s leadership, highlighted by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to release the pilot of a downed Indian aircraft, had been critical to de-escalating the situation between Pakistan and India,” he told the American lawmaker.
Islamabad, he said, desires to resolve the core regional dispute through dialogue.
On Afghanistan, Ambassador Khan said Pakistan wants to work with the United States to bring peace to Afghanistan.
“As a victim of blowback from nearly 40 years of instability and violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan had long held that there was no military solution to the conflict. Pakistan was, therefore, committed to facilitating the Afghan peace process, which was ultimately the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in the region’s stability,” a Pakistani embassy statement said.
