New Delhi: Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairperson Robert Menendez has condemned Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ill-timed visit to Moscow.
The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairperson, supported by six Congressmen, have expressed disappointment over Islamabad’s announcements of bilateral agreements with Russia, the local media reported, according to ANI.
They also criticized Pakistan’s abstention in a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution condemning the Russian invasion.
“We are disappointed with your government's decision to abstain from the UN General Assembly’s March 2 vote,” the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairperson, supported by six Congressmen, said in a letter addressed to Pakistan Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan earlier on March 16.
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“We are also disappointed that Prime Minister Imran Khan announced bilateral trade agreements with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine,” the letter undersigned by Congress members Ted W. Lieu, Tom Malinowski, Juan Vargas, Brian Fitzpatrick, Kathy Manning and David N Cicilline read.
Slamming the Prime Minister’s ill-timed visit to Moscow, the letter further said Islamabad’s move ran counter to the international community’s efforts to support Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” and call out Russia as the “aggressor”.
“The Prime Minister's decision to proceed with his visit to Moscow, at a moment when the world was uniting in support of Ukraine, ran counter to the international community's efforts to reaffirm Ukraine's territorial integrity and call out Russia as the aggressor,” the letter read.
The envoy later on March 18 met pro-Pakistan Senator Chris Van Hollen to apprise him of Islamabad’s perspective on Ukraine’s situation and the developments in Afghanistan, the Pakistani vernacular media reported, according to ANI.