US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan on Friday. Sherman stated that it should be “very proud of 42 years of helping Afghan refugees” and the US, as well as the world, was grateful for that.
Sherman, who is leading a US delegation on a visit to Pakistan, appreciated Pakistan’s role in this regard during an exclusive interview.
Sherman stated that she had visited a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Documentation Renewal and Information Verification Exercise center in Pakistan, earlier in the day, where registration cards were being issued for Afghan refugees so that they could have access to facilities such as healthcare in Pakistan.
“It is an extraordinary system,” she said, while lauding Pakistan for consistently helping Afghan refugees over a long period of time.
Talking about relations between the US and Pakistan during her visit to India, she stated that “It’s for a very specific and narrow purpose, we don’t see ourselves building a broad relationship with Pakistan.”
“The US and Pakistan have had longstanding relations for decades,” she said.
She went on to say that “this is a time of great change in [this] region because of the events in Afghanistan”, and the US and the world were reassessing what the future would look like and how to ensure a better future for Afghans and ensure that no country remained a safe haven for terrorists.
Sherman also assured that the US was willing to engage with Pakistan on “the wide-ranging agenda we have” and and the aftermath of recent events in Afghanistan.
“We also agree that humanitarian assistance [to Afghanistan] should continue,” Sherman concluded by sharing details of measures taken by the US for this purpose.
When asked about the Quad, a recently formed group that includes India, the US, Japan and Australia as members and perceived to be an alliance against China in the region, Sherman described it as a “cooperative effort” on matters such as energy and people-to-people exchange.
She further clarified that the US didn’t ask countries to choose between itself and China.
Acknowledging that China was a large economy and growing world power, she added, “What we do ask is that China plays by rules” in the international order.
When she was asked about America’s stance on the Kashmir dispute, Sherman said “it is between India and Pakistan”.
Sherman concluded by appreciating the initiatives taken by PMÂ Imran Khan and his government to cater to the climate change.
