US says ready to engage with Shehbaz-led new Pakistani govt 

US says ready to engage with Shehbaz-led new Pakistani govt 

Washington (Web Desk/Agencies): The United States (US) will engage with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to advance the two countries’ “shared interests,” a State Department Spokesperson said Monday, adding Washington values its alliance with Pakistan.

“We have said before, we value our alliance — long standing partnership — with Pakistan and have always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan is critical to United States-Pakistan interests”, Spokesperson Mathew Miller said in response to a question about PM Sharif’s election to Pakistan’s top post.

“And our engagement with new prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government will continue to focus on advancing the shared interests,” he told his daily news briefing.

Meanwhile, The US on Monday welcomed Maryam Nawaz’s election, the first woman Chief Minister, as a “milestone in Pakistani politics.”

“We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life, in the economy, including through the US Pakistan Women’s Council, civil society, and other decision-making spaces,” State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller said in response to a question at his daily news briefing.

“An inclusive Pakistan makes for a strong, prosperous country which all Pakistanis benefit from and so we are always pleased when we see cracks in the glass ceiling anywhere in the world “, Miller said.