Aizaz emphasises Pak-US cooperation on Afghanistan

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry has emphasised the importance for the two countries to cooperate for peace in Afghanistan despite difference in approach on the way forward. He made these remarks at a meeting of the Women's Foreign Policy Group held in Washington as party of the 'Embassy Series' at the Embassy premises, which was attended by members of WFPG, officials from the State Department, as well as eminent members of the Pakistani American community.
Ambassador Chaudhry recalled the longstanding history of relations between Pakistan and the United States which were broad based and deep rooted and benefited both the countries in achieving common objectives. "Pakistan was deeply interested to see a stable and peaceful Afghanistan. This was a shared objective for Pakistan and the United States," he added.
Relations between the two countries faced strains after the US decided to withhold security assistance for Pakistan at the start of the year on the issue of cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Pakistan has said that it was determined to root out terrorism from its soil and taking action without
any discrimination, Aizaz said. The Ambassador stressed the importance of maintaining good relations between the two countries, although there were differences in approach on the way forward in Afghanistan. He highlighted Pakistan's successes and achievements, both at the domestic level and also in the foreign policy domain during a time of rapid global change.
While a lot remained to be done, he said Pakistan was firmly committed to overcoming the economic and security challenges. During the Q&A session, the Ambassador responded to questions on a wide range of issues including Pakistan's relations with the United States, Afghanistan, India and Iran, the impact of social media on diplomacy, US foreign assistance to Pakistan, women's education in Pakistan, as well as other regional issues.
On behalf of the WFPG, Ambassador Catherine Russell thanked the Ambassador for hosting the event and sharing, in detail, Pakistan's domestic situation as well as its perspective on regional peace and security.