Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said he expected a trade deal between Pakistan and the United States to be finalized within days, not weeks.
“I think we are very close to finalizing a deal with the U.S. Our teams have been here in Washington, discussing, having virtual meetings, and a committee has been tasked by the prime minister to fine-tune now,” he said at an event at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. “It’s not going to be months, not even weeks, I would say days,” he said.
“Ties between Pakistan and the U.S. are getting better, and both sides have agreed to work on building a strong, long-term partnership,” he continued, noting a meeting he had with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio covered a broad range of issues, with both sides expressing willingness to bolster cooperation in trade, investment, technology, artificial intelligence, and counter-terrorism.
“We also discussed regional and global matters,” he added.
The foreign minister thanked President Donald Trump’s administration for playing a helpful role in easing tensions between Pakistan and India. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to close cooperation on global forums, including the U.N. Security Council, and stressed the need for dialogue in the Iran-Israel conflict.
On economic ties with Washington, he stressed that Pakistan wants trade, not aid. “Pakistan is planning to give greater access to American products in its markets and welcomes U.S. investors in the mining sector,” he said.
On tensions between Pakistan and India, Dar said both countries needed to stop pointing fingers and start building trust if they want to move forward. “Pakistan is already taking action [on terrorism] and doesn’t need to be told what to do,” he said, noting India had attacked Pakistan without offering any proof of Islamabad’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack.
“India often uses terrorism to shift focus and avoid the real issue, the Kashmir dispute, which remains the main bone of contention between the two neighbors,” he said, adding that Delhi had tried to change the demographics of the region several times over the past 70+ years.
He reiterated that the U.S. had facilitate the ceasefire in May, recalling that Rubio had called and asked if Pakistan was willing and been told Islamabad never wanted a war in the first place. He said the U.S. had promised to help set up talks between Pakistan and India at a neutral location. “Pakistan is ready to talk about everything, from Kashmir to terrorism, but made it clear that the talks have to be two-sided,” he explained.
“Pakistan wants no conflict with its neighbors,” he said. “We seek lasting peace in South Asia, built on trade and partnerships, not hostility,” he added.
To a question, he said Pakistan had no problem with the U.S. declaring The Resistance Front a terrorist group, but said he strongly disagreed with linking it to Lashkar-e-Taiba. He maintained Taiba was dissolved years back, with its members arrested and jailed. “TRF has nothing to do with it,” he added.
Stable Ties
Dar said the U.S. should move away from transactional ties and work toward a more strategic and stable relationship with Pakistan. He said Pakistan’s defense deals with China would not affect its ties with the U.S., as such decisions depend on which country offers the better deal.
To a question on the incarceration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, he noted he had personally donated for the construction of the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital. However, he said, Khan’s 2014 sit-in had halted economic progress, while his party’s riots on May 9 were akin to taking up arms against the state. Such acts, he stressed, must be dealt with as per law and could not be dampened on the basis of popularity. “No one has the right to attack military installations,” he said. “That’s not politics, that’s treason,” he added.
To a question on allegations of Khan’s imprisonment not following due process, Dar said this was an unfair assertion, as he could make similar comments about America’s imprisonment of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Attacking national installations in Pakistan is an act of treason, he said.
Terrorism
On terrorism and extremism, Dar praised former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for taking tough steps against militancy and lamented that the PTI-led government had undone this progress. He reiterated allegations of the PTI government releasing over 100 convicted militants, reopening borders, and allowing 30,000-40,000 Taliban fighters to return to Pakistan and regroup.
“That one cup of tea brought armed rebellion back to life in Pakistan,” he said, referring to an infamous picture of former ISI chief Faiz Hameed drinking tea at a hotel in Kabul after the Afghan Taliban returned to power.
Dar-Rubio Meeting
Earlier, during Dar’s meeting with Rubio, the U.S. official praised Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war on terror. He also praised the country’s constructive role in global and regional peace.
According to U.S. Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio lauded Islamabad’s willingness to play a constructive role in mediating with Iran and commitment to regional peace.
“The two also discussed prospects for deepening bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, including countering Daesh-K, and the upcoming U.S.-Pakistan Counterterrorism Dialogue in Islamabad this August,” she said.
Rubio had also accentuated the significance of increasing bilateral trade and exploring avenues to boost cooperation in the minerals and mining sector, she added.