Pakistan yesterday said it “welcomed” the US president-elect Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir dispute.
During a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, while responding to queries about the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the US presidential election, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the President-elect had earlier offered mediation between Pakistan and India on Kashmir dispute and “we had welcomed that offer”. Zakaria said Pakistan desires a close relationship with the US, and wishes to further strengthen it.
The US president-elect last month said that if elected, he would be willing to play a mediatory role in addressing the “very, very hot tinderbox” of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
“If it was necessary, I would do that. If we could get India and Pakistan getting along, I would be honoured to do that. That would be a tremendous achievement...I think if they wanted me to, I would love to be the mediator or arbitrator,” Trump said in the interview.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday felicitated president-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the US elections, saying he hoped to work with him for rejuvenating bilateral ties.
“I look forward to closely working with you, to bring our two countries closer and making our partnership an important vehicle for the realisation of peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond,” Sharif said in his message of greetings.
“I wish to reaffirm my government’s commitment to further strengthening and deepening of our relations, in a manner truly reflective of the aspirations of our two nations,” the prime minister further said.
The message underscored the security aspect of the relationship, recalling that the ties were crucial for promoting and sustaining peace, security and stability in the wider region.
Another important aspect of the message was a reference to “mutual respect and commonality of interests” among the factors on which the strategic relationship was based, which is seen as an implied call for respecting Pakistan’s security concerns as the new administration moves ahead with formulating its policy for the region.
Mutual distrust dogged the perpetually troubled Pakistan-US ties during President Obama’s last year in office.
The Congressional restriction on subsidising F-16 fighters sale from Foreign Military Financing programme, because of which Pakistan lost the opportunity to buy the jets, and continued refusal of the US defence secretary to certify Pakistan was adequately acting against the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups, which resulted in deductions from Coalition Support Fund (CSF) reimbursements, epitomised the problems in the relationship caused due to differences over Afghanistan.                                                                                       
Pakistani leaders were, meanwhile, concerned about the Obama administration’s closeness with Delhi and suspected US of deliberately damaging the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan by eliminating Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone attack earlier this year.
 President Mamnoon Hussain, in his speech to the joint session of parliament at the start of the new parliamentary year in June, mentioned the “misgivings” hurting the ties.
 In addition to Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon has also sent his congratulations message to Trump. He expressed hope that relations between the two countries would broaden during his tenure. He further expected that Trump would play his role for peace and stability in the world.