By: SwatiRana
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has ordered an internal review on US-Pakistan ties, a media report said.
Biden is seeking fresh input to understand where Pakistan-US ties stand at the moment and what is the way forward, The Express Tribune said.
He ordered a review to avoid having a biased approach towards Pakistan because as a vice president Biden had worked with Islamabad and for a long term he was a member of the US senate committee on foreign relations.
“Once president Biden has the institutional input, he would then reach out to prime minister Imran Khan,” a source familiar with the development told the paper.
Pakistan has been seeking a shift in its ties with the US. Unlike the past, Islamabad wants relationships to be based on economy and trade rather than solely focusing on security and Afghanistan.
At a recent meeting in Geneva, newly appointed national security adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf presented a blueprint of bilateral ties to his US counterpart Jake Sullivan.
It is believed that the US-Pakistan bilateral cooperation would depend on how the Afghanistan situation unfolds in the coming months. The US first wants Pakistan to deliver on the Afghanistan front before offering any cooperation in other areas, according to the report.
Biden was the original co-author of the Kerry-Lugar Act that trebled non-military aid to Pakistan during president Barack Obama’s first term.
