From 'dangerous' to 'secure and confident': US makes a u-turn after Biden's comment on Pak

Washington, Oct 18: Days after United States President Joe Biden dubbed Pakistan as "one of the most dangerous nations", the US Department of State made a contradictory statement saying Islamabad is a "secure and prosperous" country which has always been viewed by the US as critical to its interests.

"The US has always viewed a secure and prosperous Pakistan as critical to US interests. More broadly, the US values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan. We enjoy a strong partnership," the state department said while refraining to comment on Biden's remarks.

State Department's Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said "the foreign minister (of Pakistan) was in town and had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary not too long ago. Counselor Derek Chollet had the opportunity to visit Karachi and Islamabad not too long ago, I think, on the tail end of the summer, as did USAID Administrator Sam Power," Patel said.

"This is a relationship we view as important, and it's something that we're going to continue to remain deeply engaged in. And as it relates to the ambassador, we regularly meet with officials at the foreign ministry, but I don't have anything specific to read out," he was quoted saying by PTI.

The warm relationship between the US and Pakistan was strained after Pakistan's support for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Americans were not happy with Pakistan since 2011 after al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was found and killed there.