United States to support Pakistan's economic reforms

WASHINGTON: The United States vows to support Pakistan for economic reforms. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press briefing that Pakistan has made progress in stabilizing its economy, and we support its efforts to manage its daunting debt burden.

“We welcome last month’s announcement that the IMF has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan. We understand that the Pakistani Minister of Finance is in Washington for meetings at the IMF and World Bank. Pakistan has made progress in stabilizing its economy, and we support its efforts to manage its daunting debt burden,” remarked Miller.

“We encourage the Government of Pakistan to prioritize and expand economic reforms to address its economic challenges. Our support for the country’s economic success is unwavering, and we will continue to engage with Pakistan through technical agreements, as well as through our trade and investment ties, all of which are priorities of our bilateral relationship.”

In response to a question about provocative statements by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding killing terrorists outside their borders, the spokesperson avoided commenting but said that the United States is not going to get in the middle of this. However, we do encourage both India and Pakistan to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue.

When asked why the United States had not imposed sanctions on India, similar to past actions against foreign individuals involved in assassination attempts, especially when Indian officials were found involved in assassinations in the US, Canada, and Pakistan, Miller responded, “I am never going to preview any sanctions or actions, which is not to say that there are any coming. But when you ask me to talk about sanctions, it’s something that we don’t discuss openly.”