WASHINGTON – In a bid to revive the bilateral ties with Pakistan, U.S. VicePresident Mike Pence has telephoned Pakistan’s caretaker Prime MinisterNasirul Mulk and expressed his support to the government.
A six-member caretaker federal Cabinet on Tuesday took oath to run thePakistan government under interim Prime Minister Mulk (67), till thegeneral election on July 25.
The call of Mr. Pence on Thursday came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeotalked to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss variousissues, including the peace process in Afghanistan.
Mr. Pence expressed support for the caretaker government on behalf ofPresident Donald Trump, as both the leaders agreed to further strengthenbilateral relations between the two countries, Radio Pakistan reported.
They also agreed to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Mr. Mulk said that the caretaker government is providing all possibleassistance to the Election Commission to hold free, fair, transparent andpeaceful general election on time.
Earlier, U.S. State Department said that Mr. Pompeo and General Bajwadiscussed ways to advance U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relations, the need forpolitical reconciliation in Afghanistan and the importance of targeting allmilitant and terrorist groups in South Asia without distinction.
Pakistan has not formally issued any response to the conversation betweenMr. Pompeo and Gen. Bajwa.
But the army spokesman said that that billionaire and philanthropist BillGates called Gen. Bajwa and supported efforts by the army to help eradicatepolio from Pakistan.
Pakistan, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, are the only three countriesin the world where polio remains endemic.