Pakistan’s New Government: Change or Continuity in Foreign Policy?
Channel: United States Institute of Peace
Date: 2018-10-03

As the new Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government settles into its second month in office, it has yet to publicly articulate a comprehensive vision for its foreign policy. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is currently undertaking his first official trip to the U.S., attending the U.N. General Assembly and meeting in Washington with his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In previous speeches, Qureshi promised that Pakistan’s foreign policy will “begin and end at Pakistan,” but many questions remain on how the government intends to implement this vision.

At an initial meeting in Islamabad earlier in September, Pompeo expressed a desire to find common ground between the two countries, but also reiterated the United States has “real expectations” for the new government. In recent months, the U.S. government has also moved to prioritize a peace process in Afghanistan, historically a major source of contention between the United States and Pakistan. Progress on an Afghan political settlement could provide the opportunity needed to right the often-fraught bilateral relationship. How can we expect Pakistan’s new government to respond?

Following his meeting in Washington with Secretary Pompeo on October 2, Foreign Minister Qureshi spoke at the United States Institute of Peace to share the new government’s strategy for engaging with the United States, and the world more broadly, for the first time.

For more information about this event, visit: https://www.usip.org/events/pakistans-new-government-change-or-continuity-foreign-policy 

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