Amid financial crisis, Pakistan urges US to resume military financing

Pakistan Crisis: Days after former Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa admitted that the military he once commanded does not have the resources to fight arch-rivals India, cash-strapped Pakistan urged the United States (US) to resume military financing and sales, which had been suspended by former US President Donald Trump.

“It is important that the US restores, for Pakistan, Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales, suspended by the previous administration,” Pakistan’s envoy to US Masood Khan told the media.

The US-Pakistan relationship has been mired in a protracted period of uncertainty since the US withdrew from Afghanistan. And now since the US and China are at odds, Pakistan’s relations with America are strained, which has a negative impact on the nation’s faltering economy.

At the event, Elizabeth Horst, the US’s principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, emphasised the need to revive Pakistan’s faltering economy and urged Islamabad to cooperate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to do so, according to Dawn.

“The reforms that Pakistan and the IMF agreed to are not easy. But it’s crucial that Pakistan take these actions to bring the country back to sound financial footing, avoid falling into further debt, and grow Pakistan’s economy,” she said.

Recently, the number of high-level diplomatic meetings and discussions increased, giving Pakistan renewed optimism for improving the tense relations with the US.

The half-day symposium at the Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, was concerned with how the US-Pakistan relationship may be developed in the face of numerous difficult situations.

In response to a query, Ambassador Khan stated that Pakistan had consulted with the US administration before placing its initial order for Russian oil, according to Dawn.

He also discussed the potential contribution Pakistan may make to stabilising Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan’s stability is imperative, first and foremost, for its own people who have suffered grievously over the past four decades,” Dawn quoted Khan as saying.

Noting that the United States and China were both concerned about the growth of terrorism in Afghanistan, he said: “Let’s work together to eliminate this threat. Today it is a threat for Pakistan and Afghanistan; if unchecked, it will spread to other parts of the region and beyond.”

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.