Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby has said the United States had a” healthy service-to-service relationship with Pakistani fortified forces”, adding that”we have every anticipation that will be suitable to continue to be the case”.
The commentary from the elderly Pentagon functionary comes two days after Shehbaz Sharif was tagged as the high minister of Pakistan, replacing Imran Khan who was ousted last week through a congress vote.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Kirby said the US had participated in interests with Pakistan with respect to security and stability in”that part of the world”.
“We honor that Pakistan plays a crucial part in the region. We honor that Pakistan and the Pakistani people are, themselves, victims of terrorist attacks inside their own country, “he added.
In response to a question about the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the high minister and allegations of the ousted premier Imran Khan against the US for its part in governance change, Kirby declined to offer a comment.
“I suppose you can understand that we are not going to note about domestic politics inside Pakistan, “he responded.
When asked whether the US was prepared in case Pakistan’s military intervenes amid road demurrers organized by former high minister Imran Khan “with his veritably large crowd of sympathizers”, Kirby said he didn’t prevision any US military part there.
“And I am clearly not going to, again, wade into internal domestic politics in Pakistan,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had earlier said that a popular Pakistan was critical to US interests.
Ties between Islamabad and Washington touched a new low after former high minister Imran Khan indicted the US of conspiring to dislodge his government. He grounded his allegation on a political string in which it was reportedly said that a State Department functionary had advised of consequences for bilateral ties if the no-confidence stir failed.
Washington has denied the allegation.
Mending walls with the US would be one of the top foreign policy precedences for the new government.
