ISLAMABAD:
For the United States, it was not a shock by any definition. Not even a surprise. However, the response will come only after the parliamentary process is over.
Recommendations made in Parliament on Tuesday regarding ties with the US were almost exactly anticipated by Washington.
“We have been hearing and reading the stuff about the recommendations in the media and now they have been made public … there is nothing really surprising,” said an American diplomat. “We have been expecting the same,” he added.
The causal remarks appear to suggest that the US might have had prior knowledge of the draft of the proposals prepared by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. Senator Raza Rabbani, who chaired the panel that framed the recommendations, insisted that he refused to even share the proposals with the president and the prime minister before time.
Certain Western diplomats, however, claim to have seen the recommendations much before they were tabled in Parliament. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another US official said Washington respects the parliamentary review, but added that it was premature to judge the impact right now.
“Our relationship with Pakistan remains extremely important to us. We respect Pakistan’s parliamentary-led process and will continue awaiting the outcome of this process to hear formally from the Pakistani government about how they would like to engage moving forward,” remarked the US official.
Over in Washington, the State Department’s response was almost identical. Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that the department would comment on the parliamentary review only after the process was over. Addressing a daily news briefing, Nuland said that the US wanted relations with Pakistan to be based on mutual respect and common interests


Response: US diplomats not surprised