US State Department spokesman Ned Price has said that the United States will not allow propaganda, misinformation and lies to stand in the w...
US State Department spokesman Ned Price has said that the United States will not allow propaganda, misinformation and lies to stand in the way of its bilateral relations with Pakistan.
Ned Price made the remarks during a press briefing in response to a question about former Prime Minister Imran Khan dismissal, blaming the United States and launching an anti-US campaign.
A journalist asked him, "Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is still blaming US efforts for his removal from the PM's job and leading an anti-US campaign, so do you think his US Is the anti-Pakistan campaign creating rifts in the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the US or will it not make any difference?
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In response, Ned Price said, "We will not allow propaganda, misinformation and lies to stand in the way of our bilateral relations with any country, including Pakistan. We value our relationship with Pakistan."
Imran Khan, who was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence motion last month, accused the United States of backing the movement with the help of local people because of his pursuit of an independent foreign policy.
A few days before his ouster, on March 27, the former prime minister waved a letter at a rally in Islamabad, claiming that the letter contained evidence of a foreign conspiracy to overthrow his government. Are
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Initially, Imran Khan remained silent about the contents of the letter, but he mentioned the United States a few days later when the removal of his government was imminent.
His allegations stem from a letter he received from Pakistan's then ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, informing him of a meeting with Donald Trump, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs.
Asad Majeed had allegedly said that Donald Trump had warned that Imran Khan tenure would have an impact on bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States, but the Pentagon and the State Department denied the allegations. There is no truth in them.
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The National Security Committee (NSC), which includes all the service chiefs as well as the head of Pakistan's top intelligence agency ISI, raised the issue on March 31 and termed it a clear interference in Pakistan's internal affairs. Decided to issue a 'clear demarcation' (protest post) against this country without giving its name.
However, the forum made it clear that no foreign conspiracy was hatched to overthrow the Imran Khan-led government.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan and his party have stated that there was a foreign conspiracy behind the overthrow of the PTI government. He denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating "Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia's intelligence have been made more than once.
Blinken-Bilawal Call
During the briefing, Ned Price was also asked about a call made by US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken to Pakistan new Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari last week, in which a US official told Bilawal Bhutto on May 8 that the UN Washington was invited to attend the Security Summit.
According to a report in Dawn newspaper, it is not yet clear whether Bilawal Bhutto will attend the meeting in person or give a virtual address.
Speaking on the issue, Ned Price said: "I have no details of any bilateral meeting during next week food security meeting in New York.
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He added: "I can say that Secretary Anthony Blinken got in touch with his new Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari last week.
The State Department spokesman said that during the call, Anthony Blanken and Bilawal Bhutto discussed the 75th anniversary of US-Pakistan relations and discussed ways to further and further strengthen the relationship.
"These are broad-based bilateral relations," he said, adding that the United States and Pakistan were committed to stabilizing Afghanistan and tackling terrorism.
He said that it was a comprehensive discussion like the usual introductory talk in which our ongoing engagements including economic relations, trade and investment, climate, energy, health and education were discussed.
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