PM Sharif, Minister Hina’s discussion on Pak, US, China tussle leaked

The latest US intelligence documents revealed that Minister of State for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar had cautioned the country against sacrificing its strategic partnership with China to maintain a cordial relationship with the United States, ARY News reported. In March, Khar argued that her country can "no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States," the report revealed.The highly classified findings of the US intelligence revealed the internal assessment of Pakistan's policymakers on how to tackle the challenge of the growing tussle between the United States and China. The US - in the leaked documents - had been able to gain access to the top-secret memo written by Khar.

In one internal memo titled ‘Pakistan’s Difficult Choices’, parts of which were published by the Washington Post on Sunday, Khar cautions that Pakistan should avoid giving the impression of “appeasing” the West, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. She warns that the country can no longer attempt to maintain a middle ground between regional neighbour China and the US. The leak of US intelligence documents, posted largely on social media websites, was believed to be the most serious security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.