For almost 75 years, the relationship between United States &  Pakistan has been a vital one: Ned Price

WASHINGTON, April 15(SABAH): United States State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Friday said that the US government agreed with the statement of the Pakistan Army regarding the word ‘conspiracy’ not being mentioned in the ‘diplomatic cable’.

On Friday during a regular press briefing at the White House, Ned Price once again rejected the charge. On a question regarding former premier Imran Khan’s stance of blaming the US for his ouster, the state department spokesperson said that the US government’s message had been clear and consistent on it and that there was no truth whatsoever to the allegations that have been put forward.

“We support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights. We do not support, whether it’s in Pakistan or anywhere else around the world, one political party over another. We support broader principles, including the rule of law and equal justice under the law,” he added.

On another question about whether the US saw Shehbaz Sharif’s election as the new prime minister as an opportunity to improve the bilateral relations with this country, Ned Price replied that for almost 75 years, the relationship between the United States and Pakistan has been a vital one.

“We look forward to continuing that work with Pakistan’s government to promote peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the broader region. And in that spirit, we’ve congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his election by the Pakistani Parliament, and we look forward to working with him and his government,” he said.

He also underlined that the United States looked forward to working with newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government “to promote peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the broader region”.

“You probably saw a statement that we released from the Secretary last night regarding the selection of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” he added.