Days after skipping the Democracy Summit, Pakistan has reached out to the US, with the message that the move doesn’t mean that it has "joined any bloc or has no interest in the bilateral ties with the United States." In a call to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi explained his country’s position earlier this week.

Islamabad’s move to skip the summit—where over 100 countries, including Taiwan, were invited—was largely seen as an act played out at the behest of China, which had not been invited. The ties between Pakistan and the United States soured after the Taliban’s violent takeover of power in Kabul.  

Pakistan’s decision to skip the summit was welcomed by China and its foreign ministry spokesperson tweeted calling Pakistan “a real iron brother.” On the other hand, Islamabad, however, tried hard to delink its decision with any external factors, though officials privately acknowledged that China’s opposition to the summit made it difficult for the country to attend the gathering, reported The Express Tribune.

US President Joe Biden hasn't even made a phone call to Prime Minister Imran Khan, which, experts say, is also one of the reasons behind Pakistan's snub to the Democracy Summit. 

To avoid possible negative fallout of the decision, Pakistan reached out to the US. Pakistan, however, made it clear that it “values its relationship with the US and wants to expand it further”.

Significantly, Qureshi, who spoke with Wendy Sherman earlier this week, wanted to talk to his diplomatic counterpart, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who couldn’t be available as US officials cited his busy schedule, according to media reports. Overall, it also indicates that Washington has downgraded its level of engagement with Islamabad. 

In his call with Sherman, Qureshi told her that Pakistan would not take sides in the power politics of big countries.

Pakistan also requested the US not to put it in a difficult situation as the country wanted to move away from geopolitics to geoeconomics, reported The Express Tribune. “The US can help us in achieving that transformation.”

“We have told them (US) that we want a productive relationship with all the countries,” Qureshi said, adding they believed the US was an important country and will remain so. “Our relationship has seen many ups and downs but both countries benefit whenever they work together,” he added (SAM)