Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's new ambassador to the US. — Photo by AFP

WASHINGTON: In her first public engagement since assuming office two weeks ago, Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington Sherry Rehman reached out to the Pakistani-American community to seek their support towards better Pakistan-US relations, which she underscored, must be based on “mutual respect, interests and shared values”.

“This embassy is not going to work alone in Washington. It is going to work with many ambassadors, which are yourselves, to attempt to change the way this important bilateral relationship works,” Rehman said.

Speaking about Pakistan-US relations, the ambassador said these were certainly not “normal” times.

The relationship between Pakistan and the US has never been as important, yet the tensions have never been so grave, she said, noting that repeated episodes in recent times undermined bilateral ties.

She informed the gathering that it was for the first time in the history of the country that a comprehensive parliamentary review was underway to establish new principles for ties with the US.

The review, Islamabad’s new envoy said, would reflect a multi-partisan parliamentary consensus and the support of the Pakistani people.

Pakistan speaks today as one united voice, including the government and the people, and would have one united policy toward the United States, she said.

This is an opportunity to reset this relationship in a transparent, consistent and predictable manner, the ambassador remarked.

“As Pakistani-Americans, I want you to know that I will rely heavily on you as the extended arm of this embassy and its consulates in getting our message delivered to the American public. Every one of you is our lobbyist,” she added.

“We want to remain friends with the United States but our relationship must be based on mutual interests, respect and shared values,” she said.

“Our friends in the United States must know that our sacrifices in the war on terror far outnumber those of any other international or Nato coalition partner in Afghanistan.”

However, Rehman said she did not want to propagate a “grievance narrative.”

The ambassador argued that Pakistan-US relations needed to move from dependency to partnership, from aid to trade.

“We would prefer to be economic and political partners and not just battlefield allies.”

Regarding democracy in Pakistan, she observed that this was the first time in 30 years that a democratically elected civilian government in Pakistan was nearing completion of its constitutionally mandated term, which would be a remarkable achievement.

Around 200 representatives of the Pakistani-American community from Washington D.C. and the tri-state area attended the event.