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Donald Armin Blom, the designated US ambassador to Pakistan, has stated Washington’s relations with Islamabad are “extraordinarily consequential” to the core pursuits of each nations and vowed to work with Pakistan to resolve market entry points.
Speaking at his affirmation listening to on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Blom stated the US desires to construct a “better, reciprocal and bilateral” relationship between Pakistan and India, including that the area is one other Can’t stand the battle.
“The [US] Relations with Pakistan have been exceptionally necessary to our core pursuits. If confirmed, I’ll work with Pakistan to handle market entry points, together with Pakistan’s digital financial system rules, mental property safety and contract enforcement,” he stated.
“Pakistan is pursuing expanded financial ties with the United States in what it calls geoeconomics. “We have a common interest in promoting the role of American trade and commercial interests in Pakistan’s economy,” Blom stated.
Blom advised committee members that he would encourage Pakistan to advertise extra clear investments by sustainable financing, with a give attention to the environmental and social impacts of funding tasks.
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President Joe Biden nominated Blom – a profession member of the Senior Foreign Service who additionally beforehand served as a political counselor on the US embassy in Kabul – as ambassador to Pakistan in October, a chaotic US exit from Afghanistan and Months after the return. The Taliban dominate Kabul.
Blom would be the first full-time ambassador to Pakistan in three years, because the earlier Donald Trump administration didn’t ship an envoy to Islamabad after then-ambassador David Hale accomplished his three-year time period in August 2018.
Welcoming Blome to the listening to, the president, Robert Menendez, stated his nomination got here at “a particularly challenging moment in US-Pakistan relations”, including that the failure of the US mission in Afghanistan was “in no small part”. In, the rationale was not the “Years of Pakistani Double Behavior”.
Menendez alleged that Islamabad provided secure haven to the Taliban whereas its militants focused and killed US troops. “We need to have serious talks with the Pakistani government on the way forward, and I am sure you will send them a strong message if confirmed,” he stated.
Menendez additionally expressed his concern over “an increasingly permissive environment for extremist groups to operate” in Pakistan, which “has become a dangerous place for religious minorities”.
In his opening assertion to the committee, Blohm stated the occasions in Afghanistan positioned a heavy burden on him, as he beforehand served as the highest political official on the US embassy in Kabul between 2012 and 2013.
He stated, “Mission Pakistan also plays an important role in fostering an inclusive Afghan government that respects and promotes the human rights of all individuals, including women, girls and members of minority groups, and ensures that Afghanistan can reunite.” Never grow to be a secure haven for terrorism.” ,
Read extra: Islamabad will not leave Kabul in limbo
If confirmed, he stated, he would prioritize the secure switch from Afghanistan to any US citizen, lawful everlasting residents, particular immigrant visa candidates and different Afghans for whom the US had a particular accountability, in addition to their members of the family. as effectively.
He stated each the US and Pakistan are dedicated to combating al-Qaeda, the native chapter of Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “If confirmed, I will involve Pakistan to fight all other groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed,” he stated.
The designated ambassador promised to work to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India, saying he was inspired by the continued ceasefire alongside the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. “The region cannot tolerate another conflict, especially between nuclear-armed countries,” he stated.
“Strong US bilateral partnerships with India and Pakistan should not mutually unique; We want productive relations with each the states. Pakistan and India ought to determine the tempo, scope and character of their bilateral talks.”
However, he was requested how the US can enhance its ties with Pakistan whereas working in opposition to terrorism. Blom stated it’s in Pakistan’s curiosity that Afghanistan doesn’t fall into the arms of terrorists once more and that he would encourage Islamabad to work with worldwide companions.
He talked about that Pakistan was a participant within the struggle in opposition to the COVID-19 pandemic and the local weather disaster. In May, 2020, he recalled that Pakistan had donated 100,000 facemasks and 25,000 protecting fits to the US and in return the US gave Pakistan 27.6 million doses of vaccines and different gadgets.
On local weather, he stated Pakistan has signed the Global Methane Pledge, introduced a moratorium on approving new coal-fired energy technology, dedicated to renewable power offering 60% of electrical energy technology by 2030, and 10 billion tree plantation marketing campaign.
The ambassador advised the committee that spiritual minorities in Pakistan “have long faced social and legal discrimination”, including: “If confirmed as ambassador, I would appreciate human rights in Pakistan, especially religion and I will never shy away from defending freedom of expression.”
Read additionally: Terrorist organizations will be strengthened by chaos in Afghanistan: FM
Commenting on the allegations of blasphemy, Blom stated that such “allegations undermine the rule of law, threatened mob rule, deeply damaged Pakistan’s international reputation, and caused deadly violence and many deaths”. .
He promised to talk out in opposition to “these abuses and violations of human rights and religious freedom” and urged “the Pakistani government to stop the harassment of journalists and members of civil society who have faced abductions, assaults, threats and disappearances”. “.
Towards the tip of his opening remarks, Blom was requested how Pakistan can steadiness its ties with its closest ally China and the US on the similar time, given the truth that India is within the quad group of 4 nations with the US. was sharing.
He stated Islamabad had signaled very clearly that it was taken with diversifying its relationship with Washington, contemplating the US as a key associate for its non-public sector. “His stated aspirations for a geo-economic-driven policy demonstrate his interest in diversifying relations beyond Beijing,” he stated.
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