US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken has congratulated Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and said that Washington valued the ties between the countries. Sharif took office on Monday after ousting former prime minister Imran Khan who held the US responsible for the loss of his government.

“The United States congratulates newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and we look forward to continuing our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan’s government,” the US said in a statement released by the State Department on Wednesday.

“Pakistan has been an important partner on wide-ranging mutual interests for nearly 75 years and we value our relationship,” reads the statement, adding the US viewed strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both countries."

Later, in a Tweet, Pakistan’s Prime Minister's Office said, "The new government wishes to constructively and positively engage with the US to promote shared goals of peace, security, and development in the region.” The PMO also highlighted the need for deepening the relationship on the principles of equality, mutual interest, and mutual benefit.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that the US had a "healthy military-to-military relationship with Pakistani armed forces", and added, "we have every expectation that will be able to continue to be the case".

"We recognize that Pakistan plays a key role in the region. We recognize that Pakistan and the Pakistani people are, themselves, victims of terrorist attacks inside their own country," Kirby said on Tuesday.

Unlike his predecessor, Imran Khan, who was engaged in public criticism of the US and its policy in the region, Sharif is looking for mending ties with the US—something the country’s powerful military has also advocated.

With the exit of Imran Khan, Asfandyar Mir, an expert on South Asia, noted, “there may be an opportunity to reset relations between the United States and Pakistan, especially in light of Army Chief Bajwa’s and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s interest in maintaining a realistic (read transactional and economic) relationship with both the United States and China, and openness to some rapprochement with India.”

Michael Kugelman, another expert on the region, noted in a Foreign Policy brief, “Military cooperation [between Islamabad and the US] still has potential. Pakistan’s generals haven’t lost their desire for cordial relations with the United States as evidenced by Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s conciliatory comments in recent days.” 

(SAM)