Pakistan is seeking a “mutually beneficial relationship’ with the United States, Asad Majeed, the Pakistan envoy to the US said, adding the relationship should not be viewed through a transactional lens. 

Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, an independent US think tank, on the future of US-PAK ties, Asad said the two countries need a “stand-alone relationship.”

He also quoted Richard Armitage, a former US diplomat, Washington and Islamabad have always had a relationship directed against something. “At one point in time, we were allies against communism, at another point in time, we were allies against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and then, at another point in time, we were fighting terrorism,” he was quoted as saying by The News. 

He further said, “Now is the time to have a relationship for each other – a relationship that is not against anyone, but for the people of our two countries.” Pakistan, he claimed, is ready to harness its geographical potential and ready to invest in peace in the region. 

Since October 2018, Pakistan has again found considerable relevance in the US foreign policy as the latter seeks an exit from Afghanistan. Since the change of administration in the US this year, Pakistan has seen pushing itself for a renewed partnership with the US that goes beyond the regional security dynamics. 

Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said the country wanted to have an economic partnership with the US, and the ties between the two nations should not be hyphenated to the Indian angle. 
   
Yosuf Moeed, the special assistant to Pakistan’s prime minister on national security, had also expressed similar views.