Foreign Office confirms contact between COAS and US deputy state secretary

Foreign Office (FO) has stated that Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa contacted US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad after confirming Gen. Bajwa’s communication with the US official during the weekly briefing claimed that the FO was unaware of whether the two officials discussed the economic issues or not.

He said we believe that Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) will be able to give remarks on it. The FO’s statement coincides with allegations that the COAS contacted Washington to ask for assistance in obtaining an early loan disbursement from the IMF.

This confirmation from the foreign office after an international media outlet Nikkei claimed a meeting between General Bajwa and the US deputy state secretary on Friday.

“The sources, who requested anonymity, said that COAS General Bajwa made an appeal for the White House and Treasury Department to force IMF to immediately release nearly $1.2 billion that Pakistan is due to receive under a resumed IMF loan program,” said the report.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan while talking to a local media channel said, “if these reports are correct, then it gives a clear indication that we are weakening as a country”.
He further said it was not the army chief’s job to undertake such measures and ask for economic assistance.

He said America would also make demands on Pakistan if it helped Pakistan economically. “I fear that our national security will be targeted and weaken in the process of accepting US demands, and eventually Pakistan will suffer.”