Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that US President Joe Biden’s administration must recognise the world, and engage with the new Pakistan, based on new ground realities.
Addressing a press conference in Multan yesterday, he said that Pakistan, and specifically India, has changed a lot in the last four years, hence any engagement and relations should be developed on the basis of new ground realities.
Qureshi said: “India has changed. Is it the same shining and secular India today? No.”
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government hopes to engage with the new US administration based on a new approach and new guidelines,” he stated. “I understand that there is a lot of similarity [between] the United States’ current thinking and our policies.”
Qureshi said that he had penned a letter to the incoming US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, updating him about Pakistan’s current policies and looked forward to talks with him in the coming days.
“We have made a very big shift, from a geo-strategic position to a geo-economic position,” the minister said.
In response to a question from a reporter regarding the reservations of certain allied Arab states over recent decisions taken by Pakistan, Qureshi clarified: “We haven’t signed any agreement that hurts the interests of an allied state. We have never done, and will never do, such an agreement which causes damage to any brother Muslim state.”
In reference to the conflict in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region last year, he said that Turkey and Pakistan have openly supported and congratulated Azerbaijan on its “big success” in reclaiming its occupied territory.
As a result of that support, Qureshi said, after Azerbaijan’s victory, the flags of Turkey and Pakistan were waved in the streets by the citizens of Azerbaijan.
“We hadn’t handed them [flags], this was the people’s emotions, acceptance and tribute to Pakistan,” he said.
![Qureshi: u201cThere is a lot of similarity [between] the United Statesu2019 current thinking and our policiesu201d.](https://www.gulf-times.com/uploads/imported_images/Upload/Slider/120212503924342695192.jpg "Qureshi: u201cThere is a lot of similarity [between] the United Statesu2019 current thinking and our policiesu201d.")
Qureshi: u201cThere is a lot of similarity [between] the United States’ current thinking and our policiesu201d.
