WASHINGTON: The United States has made it clear that it judges governments by the policies they pursue, and is open to and would work with any elected government in Pakistan.
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Addressing weekly press briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price, while responding to a question, said “Pakistan is a partner of ours; we share a number of interests. We have demonstrated our desire to see constructive relations with Pakistan over the course of successive governments. As we have said in different contexts, we judge governments by the policies they pursue. It would ultimately be a question of the type of policy that any future government of Pakistan might pursue.”
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When asked to comment about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s call for peace talks with India on all burning issues including Kashmir, the State Department spokesperson said the US has long called for regional stability in South Asia, and that’s certainly what it wants to see.
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“We want to see it advanced. When it comes to our partnership – our partnerships with India and Pakistan, these are relationships that stand on their own. We do not see these relationships as zero-sum. They stand on their own. We have long called for regional stability in South Asia, but the pace, the scope, the character of any dialogue between India and Pakistan is a matter for those two countries, India and Pakistan,” the spokesperson added.
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