WASHINGTON: The cooperation between Pakistan and the United States is critical to achieving stability in Afghanistan, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said in an interview to the Washington Post, emphasizing that any confrontation at this point of time is not in the interest of either country.
"Pakistan and the US have the same objective, to stabilize situation in Afghanistan," he said in an interview with Pamela Constable, Afghanistan and Pakistan Bureau Chief of the Washington Post.
"This can only be achieved if both the countries work together in the same direction."
Responding to a question, the Ambassador said that nearly half of the Afghanistan is unstable which was source of concern for Pakistan, Central Asia and China, and it was not in the interest of either Pakistan or the US to drift apart at this point in time, he added.
During an interview with Fox News, Ambassador Chaudhry stated that the message by the US leadership has not gone well with Pakistan and its people and President Trump's tweet was rather a surprise for all. Fox News is known these days to be on the side of White House and its news and analysis are particularly watched by the US administration.
Commenting on the resulted stand-off that many foreign policy experts say would be counterproductive to the efforts for stabilizing Afghanistan, Ambassador Chaudhry said that Pakistan wants to avoid confrontation with the United States.
"United States takes a step and then Pakistan takes another step and both the countries drift apart...I don't think it's in the interest of either country", he remarked.
In another interview to WTOP in 'Target US' program, the Ambassador said that Pakistan was confused by President Trump's tweet accusing Pakistan of "lies & deceit" because both Secretary Rex Tillerson and Secretary Mattis during their visits to Pakistan carried the same message about working on a common ground with Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that WTOP is the most popular radio channel listened in the Washington Metro Area. WTOP is particularly monitored by the decision making centers - the White House, Capitol Hill, Department of State (DOS), Department of Defence (DOD) etc.
While talking to Voice of America (VOA), Ambassador Chaudhry remarked that the two countries should remain engaged with each other in order to avoid steps that could create tensions and destabilize the region. "We should not be on collision course", he stated.
Besides talking to the leading electronic media, Ambassador Chaudhry had many off-the-record meetings with the mainstream US media including Wall Street Journal, Washington Post etc to narrate Pakistan's point of view over current development in Pak-US relations.
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