Sheila Jackson Lee: “We all mourn for the loss of our brave soldiers, not only at the time of evacuation, but also in the wars in Afghanistan…”

“We all mourn for the loss of our brave soldiers, not only at the time of evacuation, but also in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and throughout America's history. However, the State Department is the face of our international policies that will create the opportunities for engagement and collaboration and change. I chair the Pakistan Caucus. It is one of the largest caucus of Members of the United States Congress who understand the relationship that the United States and Pakistan has enjoyed for 76 years. What my colleague speaks of is not the Pakistan Government or people. Over the decades, both countries have built a multifaceted and diverse relationship driven by cooperation in areas such as defense, counterterrorism, trade, investment, agriculture, IT, energy, climate, health, and education. Enduring the raging aspects of the Afghan war, many Pakistan soldiers lost their lives fighting terrorism. The cooperation is rooted in our shared democratic values that they are still working to improve, and human rights as well. Today, the bilateral relationship is moving in the right direction. This past year, both countries have recently held dialogue on security and nonsecurity areas. These include trade, investment, renewable energy, climate change, health, education, as well as security cooperation, counterterrorism, and defense.…”