WASHINGTON: According to a statement released in Washington on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and reassured her of his ongoing support for the country’s recovery from the devastating floods.
Secretary Blinken and FM Bhutto-Zardari “shared their mutual hope for a productive International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in January and discussed the need for close coordination,” according to Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US State Department.
The statement added that the secretary expressed condolences for the victims of recent terrorist attacks and emphasized the United States’ unwavering support for Pakistan in its fight against terrorism.
The second leg of the foreign minister’s week-long trip to the United States includes a stop in Washington. After attending a special UN session of the G77 countries and holding bilateral meetings with the UN chief and other dignitaries, he reached Washington on Monday. Pakistan’s fight against the TTP and other similar groups received unconditional support from the US State Department, which stated that defeating terrorism was a goal shared by both nations.
It also offered to help India and Pakistan settle their disagreements, reminding them that they were important global partners and that America wanted to keep their “valuable partnerships.”
However, when asked if the United States could also assist in resolving the Kashmir dispute, Mr. Price responded, According to our policy, India and Pakistan must address this problem. We are willing to support if the parties so desire, but India and Pakistan must decide this.
On Monday, the foreign minister gave an address to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to kick off his official duties in Washington. On Tuesday, he gave a speech at the Atlantic Council and attended a community dinner at the residence of the Pakistani ambassador.
During the last two days, he also met with a number of lawmakers from the US.
In a meeting with Bloomberg distributed on Tuesday, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari guarded his new comments depicting Indian State leader Narendra Modi as ‘the butcher of Gujarat‘, saying he was alluding to ‘a verifiable reality’, Dawn.com revealed.
I was making reference to a historical fact. My remarks were not mine alone. I did not call Mr. Modi, and I did not invent the phrase “Butcher of Gujarat.” Following the riots in Gujarat, Muslims in India used that term to describe Mr. Modi.
“A member of Mr. Modi’s party has announced a 20 million rupee bounty on my head two days after my remark. Therefore, he stated, “I don’t think that taking such extreme steps is the best way to disprove the fact that Mr. Modi is the “Butcher of Gujarat.”
He stated, “It is an extreme reaction that highlights and reinforces the points I made at the UN.”
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted strongly to Mr. Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks, which led to protests all over the country, including outside the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
UN chief seeks action against TTP
According to Dawn.com, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the Taliban administration in Kabul to end “all forms of terrorism activities” from Afghan soil that posed a threat to Pakistan and other neighboring nations.
He stated at a press briefing on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York, “There is […] a clear request from the international community, which is for Afghanistan to stop all forms of activity of terrorist organizations that from Afghanistan represent a threat to neighboring countries, including Pakistan.”
He added that the UN was actively participating in these discussions with the Taliban’s de facto authorities.
He added, “We consider that it is absolutely essential for the Taliban not to allow any form of terrorist activity that might have an impact in relation to Pakistan, as in relation to any other country in the region.” This applies to both Pakistan and other countries in the region.
