ISLAMABAD, Jan 16 (APP):Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi emphasizing the significance of further strengthening people-to-people and inter-parliamentary linkages between the United States and Pakistan on Thursday urged the members of Pakistan Caucus of US Congress to play their due role in that regard.
The Foreign Minister expressed these views during a meeting hosted in his honor by the Pakistan Caucus of the United States Congress at the Capitol Hill in Washington.
The event was attended by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair, Congressional Pakistan Caucus, Congressman Thomas Suozzi Democratic Co-Chair and Congressman Jim Banks, Republican Co-Chair of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, as well as other members of the Caucus, a foreign office statement issued here said.
The meeting was also joined by Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee as well as Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the House sub-Committee on Asia.
During the interaction, Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored that Pakistan has always valued its partnership with the United States.
Since the U.S. Congress was one of the pillars of the American political system, the Foreign Minister appreciated the Caucus for its role within the US Congress in further improving bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States which were already on an upward positive trajectory over the last year.
He also briefed the Caucus about government of Pakistan’s vision for socio-economic progress and human development in the country as well as Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace and prosperity including in facilitating peace in Afghanistan and defeating terrorism in the region.
The Foreign Minister also briefed the members of the Caucus on the latest situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the continuing Indian repression of the Kashmiri people.
The members of Pakistan Caucus thanked the Foreign Minister for his briefing and appreciated Pakistan’s invaluable contributions for regional peace and security.
They also recognized the role of the Pakistani American community in the U.S. who were contributing towards further strengthening bilateral linkages and relations.
