Former Ambassador of Pakistan to United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has said that it is highly important for Pakistan to wisely navigate through its relationship with China and the United States. Addressing a panel discussion on ‘PAK-US Relations: Challenges in Trump Era II’ held at National Institute of Public Policy on Friday, he said this time Pakistan would not become part of any camp, adding that for the United States, Pakistan was already in the Chinese camp. He said, “Pakistan’s relation with China are very important for Pakistan and China also realizes Pakistan’s importance for its access to the Indian Ocean. However, Pakistan cannot not give up its relations with the US as it is a large trading partner and a destination of Pakistani students to its universities.” He underlined the need to putting our own house in order, adding that political and economic stability in the country were of utmost importance to face the challenges. “The writ of the state is imperative to provide safe environment to people of the country and foreigners. If a country is strong politically, economically and in terms of security, then the world will consider it relevant. China is more focusing on its economic muscle building, its stakes in different countries and they believed that in this way they would be able to counter the US onslaught,” he maintained. Former Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan said that Pakistan needed to adopt a stable and gradual approach and must avoid abrupt actions. “Political stability in Pakistan is of fundamental importance,” he said and added it was not only essential for having good relations with China and the United States but also to ensure better economic development. He said that a political stable Pakistan would be able to negotiate in a better way its relations with other countries including the United States. Mansoor Ahmad said that Pakistan needed comprehensive systemic reforms, adding that social reforms were necessary besides managing the increasing population. He said there was a need to improve the country’s inter-ethnic and inter-provincial equations. He also underlined the need to focus on the region for stable relations with the US and the world in general. It is highly important to find a way to deal with Afghanistan in terms of TTP and other issues, he said. The former ambassador said it was vital to have peaceful relations with all neighbouring countries. “Pakistan must focus on smart partnership with the US and China so that both countries feel comfortable in their relations with Pakistan.” he added. He said that there was a lot of potential in terms of bilateral relations with the United States. “If Pakistan takes trade to 30 billion dollars in the next 10 years then this will mean totally a different relationship with the United States. As far as sanctions are concerned, we need to engage with the US on the issue and ensure that such narratives were avoided,” he added. Later, souvenirs were presented to both former ambassadors. National Institute of Public Policy (NIPP) Dean Dr Naveed Elahi along with his hosted the discussion.
Lt Gen (R) Bilal Akbar, Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Major (R) Eruj Zakaria, Usman Tarar, Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami,
Dr Ayesha Ashfaq, Omer Nasib, Iqbal Shahid, Muzammil Suharwardi, Major (R) Tanveer Shahid Raheem, Meraj Arif and others were present.