Pakistan caretaker PM's jibe at US: ‘We are country of consequence, not concern'

Pakistan caretaker PM at Davos: The caretaker prime minister said, “Pakistan is a country of consequence, not a country of concern.”

Pakistan caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar urged US president to acknowledge his country's role in regional and global matters asserting that Pakistan is not a country of concern and it should be constructively engaged with. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar made the comments at Davos while attending the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) summit after the US last week designated Pakistan as "country of particular concern" for engaging in and tolerating "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, during a panel session on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. (Bloomberg)

When asked what Pakistan’s message would be to the Joe Biden administration, the caretaker prime minister said, “Pakistan is a country of consequence, not a country of concern so we Pakistan should be constructively engaged.”

Pakistan is a mid-sized power and its actual potential and role needs to be appreciated, he said, adding, “It is the need of the hour to recognise Pakistan’s role, be it in the region or at the global stage."

The statements come after two bases of the Balochi militant group Jaish al Adl in Pakistan were targeted in Balochistan province by Iranian missiles and drones. On the need for a regional approach to deal with the challenge of terrorism, the caretaker PM said that China and Pakistan enjoy strategically close relations, adding that “no matter what happens in the region or anywhere else, nothing can affect Pakistan's relationship with China.”