ISLAMABAD: In an extraordinary overture after over two years of mutual hostility, the US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome on Monday called on the opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub – the first ever meeting by any top US diplomat with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership since ouster of Imran Khan two years ago.
The relations between the US and PTI turned sour after the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan – back in 2022 – repeatedly claimed that Donald Lu, assistant secretary of the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, met the then Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington in March and told him that Khan should be dismissed from power in the no-confidence vote.
After Khan’s ouster from power, the US ambassador to Pakistan was seen holding meetings with heads of other political parties except PTI, due to which the surprised meeting of Ambassador Blome with PTI secretary general Omar Ayub is believed to be a major breakthrough in mending estranged ties between the US and the PTI.
Ambassador Blome went straight to the opposition leader’s chamber in the National Assembly, where the duo held a meeting, which was also attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, and Raoof Hasan.
Talking to journalists after the meeting, Ayub said that issues pertaining to the rule of law and the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan came under discussion but not Imran Khan’s release from jail.
Ayub said that the delegation had a productive discussion with the US ambassador on the importance of upholding the rule of law and violation of human rights in the country.
He emphasized that the rule of law is essential for the country’s progress and that the current environment is not conducive to economic development.
During the meeting, they held a detailed discussion on the prevailing situation of basic human rights and the economic situation of the country “The issues such as state invasion against people’s right to vote, announced and unannounced restrictions on basic political freedom and illegal administrative measures against freedom of expression and press,” he added.
In the meeting, the ongoing series of extra-constitutional political revenge against hundreds of political prisoners including PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, his wife, men and women leaders along with party workers also came under discussion. Moreover, they also shed light on the contents of the recent report of the US Department of State on basic human rights violations in Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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