Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has expressed the view that President Joe Biden should have a conversation with Prime Minister Imran Khan soon, so as to rebuild the relationship between the United States and Pakistan. At a fundraising event this weekend, the key senator called upon US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to ask President Biden to contact Pakistan’s prime minister.
The senator stated that such a conversation was imminent:
“I am sure that this contact will take place soon, so I don’t think it should mean anything else.”
The event took place at the residence of Dr Tariq Ibrahim, a member of the board of the American-Pakistani Political Action Committee (APPAC). Senator Menendez said that it was important to hold engagements between the US and Pakistan, saying: “I think it would serve us well to have such a conversation and, you know when we have these conversations, they are honest, and that means they are also transparent.”
If the two countries could begin speaking honestly about their agreements and disagreements, the Senator opined, they could repair their relationship. He added, “And if we can rebuild on it, we, I hope, can expand on it – not just about Pakistan in the context of a military or security dimension, but much greater – talking about an incredibly large population that is very young; there is tremendous opportunity to build upon the economic dynamism that we create.”
