External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised questions over the “merits” of the US-Pakistan relationship and mentioned that Washington’s ties with Islamabad have not served the “American interest”. “It’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving the American interests,” Jaishankar mentioned at an occasion organized by the Indian American group in Washington on Sunday.
The remarks have been made when the Indian minister was questioned by the viewers on US motion on F-16 fighter jets with Pakistan. Just weeks in the past, for the primary time since 2018, US State Department authorized a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Pakistan for the sustainability of the Pakistan Air Force F-16 fleet and tools at the price of USD 450 million.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh promptly conveyed to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin India’s issues over Washington’s resolution to present a sustenance package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet. “It’s really for the United States today to reflect on the merits of this relationship and what they get by it,” Jaishankar asserted. “For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things,” Jaishankar famous.
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“If I were to speak to an American policy-maker, I would really make the case (that) look what you are doing,” Jaishankar strongly asserted.
Jaishankar on Saturday concluded the high-level United Nations General Assembly debate in New York and is scheduled to spend the subsequent three days in Washington. The minister is scheduled to meet together with his American counterpart Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and different prime officers of the Biden administration.
(ANI Inputs)
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