Peace in Afghanistan impossible without Pakistan: US State Department

WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - US State Department spokesman has said that Pakistan-US bilateral relations are not only viewed from the angle of China, our other priority is peace and stability in Afghanistan which is not possible without Pakistan.

These views were expressed by US State Department spokesman Zed Tarar while talking to a British news agency. During the interview, they also discussed Pak-US relations, CPEC and other important issues.

Zed Tarar serves as Deputy Director of the London Media Hub where he manages the Department’s media engagement throughout South Asia.

Asked about CPEC, Zed Tarar said, "Our position on the Pak-China Economic Corridor is clear. We do not want any of the partners to come under the burden of debt."

To a question, he said that Pakistan-US relations are a historic matter and we have many opportunities to strengthen bilateral relations. Secretary Blinken told Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that he hoped to strengthen ties, especially in the trade sector.

Asked if the new Biden administration would do the same like former President Trump offered to mediate on Kashmir, he said the Biden administration is very different from the Trump administration. Problems at the global level are resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and we believe that direct dialogue between Pakistan and India can lead to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

In response to another question, he said that looking at US foreign policy, I do not think that there is any such competition between Pakistan and India. I am handling the same file myself and I have been a diplomat in the Foreign Office for 11 years and I have never had any doubt that Pakistan s relations with the United States are different from the rest of the world.

To a question on Pakistan s relations with the United States and China, he said that the impression that bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States would be viewed only from China s point of view was not correct. Another of our priorities is peace and stability in Afghanistan and it is not possible to establish peace and stability in Afghanistan without Pakistan.

Asked about the peace process with the Taliban in Afghanistan, whether the new Biden administration is reviewing the Doha Accord with the Taliban, he said that the whole process is currently being reviewed and especially we are seeing to it that what the Taliban have promised is true and whether the Taliban are taking every step to ensure their promises. This review is ongoing, but there is no word yet on where it could go.