Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad does “not have any problem” with the United States developing ties with India, provided that it did not come at Pakistan’s cost.
He expressed these views during an interview with News Week published today (Saturday) where he was asked about India expanding its relationship with the US, as well as ties between Islamabad and New Delhi, particularly in context of the Kashmir issue.
“I think we do not have any problem with the United States developing a partnership with India if it is not at the cost of Pakistan,” he said, adding that Pakistan wanted good relationships with its neighbours and regional partners. “We have common borders with China, we have common borders with Afghanistan, Iran, India. We would like to
improve our relationships with them if the relationship is not good. We want to live in peace. If there is no peace there, we will never be able to restore our economy the way we want to restore it,” he said.
In this connection, he also mentioned that Pakistan’s was a “vulnerable economy” and not a very big one.
“All we have is a geographical location, which is strategic, which attracts, I would say, not all the good things, it sometimes attracts some things which really make us even more vulnerable.”
Asif went on to say, “I personally feel that some appreciation is required in Washington about our situation, and we should not be pushed into a situation where we have to make some very hard choices”.
“Our relationship with America for us is very valuable. It has its history. It has some disappointments, some huge disappointments, but still we value our relationship with the United States and we want that relationship to flourish.”
“We are big trade partners, we have a very large Pakistani diaspora in the United States and Pakistani interests over there. So, their business interests are also, considering our size, they are quite attractive and large,” Asif said.
