Pak minister Hina Rabbani Khar told PM Sharif not to side with US at expense of angering China: Report

Pakistan’s junior foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar suggested to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the country should stop cosying up with the United States at the expense of sacrificing its strategic relationship with China, leaked US intelligence documents revealed.

She said that the country can “no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States,” the report stated, according to the Washington Post.

The leaked documents, published by Washington Post, contain two Pakistani memos warning the top brass not to irk China to maintain links with the United States.

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The Washington Post, however, has not revealed how it got access to those Pakistani memos.

It also states how Pakistan should distance itself from the United States on issues like Moscow and China.

One of the memos talks about the meeting that took place between Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the PM in March this year to discuss Pakistan’s relations with China

The memo titled “Pakistan’s difficult choices”, details how Islamabad is cautious and wants to avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West.

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Another memo, dated February 17, reveals details of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s discussions with a subordinate on an upcoming UN vote on the Ukraine conflict. It also anticipated renewed Western pressure to back the UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion.

Pakistan is among the 32 countries that abstained from voting every time a US-backed resolution on the Ukrainian conflict was raised in the UN General Assembly.

In the memo, one of his advisors told PM Sharif that supporting the UN-backed resolution would signal a shift in Pakistan’s position as it had earlier maintained absence on a similar resolution.

The advisor further states Pakistan should focus on negotiating trade and energy deals with Russia, and not support the resolution as it could jeopardise those ties.

The Washington Post report further points out that leaked documents reflect how major developing nations are looking to “evade the intensifying standoff between the United States, Russia and China and, in some cases, exploit that rivalry for their own gain.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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