Home TRENDING US REQUESTS PTI’s ECONOMIC RECOVERY STREATEGY

US REQUESTS PTI’s ECONOMIC RECOVERY STREATEGY

The US is looking to the PTI for a strategy to revive the economy.

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The US is looking to the PTI for a strategy to revive the economy.
Officials in the Biden administration have inquired about the position of the PTI regarding the government’s understanding of the IMF.

PTI chief Imran Khan gestures during an interview with VOA. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), despite its public posturing against the US, is working behind the scenes to mend fences with Washington. The former ruling party has not only abandoned its anti-US narrative but has also discussed future plans to rescue the nation from economic ruin with the global superpower.

A meeting on Thursday night between a visiting US delegation led by US Department of State Counsellor Derek Chollet and PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry was the first indication that PTI Chief Imran Khan’s party was no longer looking to further enrage the US and instead wanted rapprochement.

Chollet is in Islamabad as the representative of US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken as part of a renewed effort by the two nations to broaden their cooperation beyond security and Afghanistan.

This was the first publicly acknowledged meeting between the two sides since Imran was removed from office in April of last year, and it came shortly after the PTI chief changed the narrative surrounding the purported conspiracy to overthrow the government after months of criticising the US and its representatives.

As a result of the ongoing financial crisis and political unrest, US officials requested that the PTI share its plan for economic revival during the meeting, according to sources with knowledge of the development.

According to them, the PTI sought the PTI’s opinion on the government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund as it attempted to mend fences by promising that it would stop spreading the anti-US narrative in the future (IMF).

The sources disclosed that a meeting between US officials and the PTI economic team to further discuss the issues was anticipated in the upcoming days.

They suggested that the US officials and PTI leader Imran may meet after the meeting with the economic team.

They claimed that senior officials including Donald Blome, the US ambassador to Pakistan, Elizabeth Horst, the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department, and Clinton White, the counsellor of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), were present.

The information became public after Fawad revealed on Twitter that he met with US officials and talked about a variety of topics, including politics and Pakistan’s human rights violations. Fawad claimed to have had a “good meeting with the US ambassador and senior officials” in the tweet.

The PTI leader continued by stating that the “worsening HR situation in Pakistan was a particular focus of discussion,” and that he had informed US officials of the PTI’s worries regarding the misuse of anti-terrorism and blasphemy laws by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government against political opponents.

According to Fawad, these meetings were a part of a “mutual desire” for relationships based on equality and the well-being of people. “The political situation and the PTI position on various issues came under discussion,” he added.

After Imran repeatedly stated that he no longer believed a foreign power was conspiring with his political opponents to overthrow him, it appears that the claim that the meeting was the result of mutual desire was made to dispel the perception that the PTI was the only party interested in meeting the US officials.

Imran has recently not only changed his usual anti-American stance but also repeatedly stated in interviews that he wanted to mend fences with Washington despite charging it with treating Islamabad like a “slave”

If re-elected, Imran frequently reaffirmed that he no longer held the US responsible for the alleged conspiracy and wished for a “dignified” relationship, saying: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over, it’s behind me.”

Imran stated in a recent interview with the Voice of America that new information had come to light, and he was now convinced that it was not a foreign power conspiring to topple his government but rather his own army chief, who pushed Washington to order Imran to leave.

After the former military czar was quoted as saying that Pakistan was headed for disaster if Imran kept holding onto power, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was accused.

Imran was so incensed by Gen Bajwa’s accusation that he not only attacked the former military commander but also wrote a letter to President Dr. Arif Alvi asking him to order an investigation into Bajwa on suspicion of, among other things, breaking his oath by meddling in politics and the anti-graft organisation.

After the US, Imran is now blaming Gen. Bajwa for abusing his power in the majority of governance-related matters, claiming that the PTI was left to bear the brunt of his actions. As surprising as it may seem, Gen. Bajwa and other retired generals have been accused of political interference by the PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), but so far no one has been prosecuted.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Islamabad was contacted for comment but could not be reached prior to the publication of this story.

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