Reset in ties.

THE posting of a new American ambassador in Islamabad after a gap of nearly four years presents a fresh opportunity for the resetting of Pakistan-US ties after a period of considerable turbulence. Bilateral relations throughout the former PTI government's tenure were colder than usual, while Imran Khan's claims that his administration was ousted by a US-backed 'conspiracy' - later clarified by the National Security Committee - marked a nadir in ties. However, as Ambassador David Blome told this paper, Washington wants to move on and 'keep engaging across all levels of Pakistani society'. Of course, resetting ties will not be easy, but as long as there is an intention on both sides to improve relations in a spirit of mutual respect, progress can be made.

There were already signs that Washington wanted to improve ties with Islamabad after the departure of the PTI government. In this regard, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York last month was seen as a major ice-breaker. Moving forward, relations need to be mutually beneficial, and not merely transactional as has been the case over the last several decades. For example, while Mr Blome told this paper that the US seeks a 'sustained' partnership with Pakistan on 'counterterrorism'; this should not translate to simply using Pakistan as...