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ISLAMABAD: The United States on Wednesday praised Pakistan’s leadership for helping broker a ceasefire with India and deepening counterterrorism cooperation, saying such efforts had made both nations and the wider region more secure.

The comments were made by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker at her country’s Independence Day reception in Islamabad.

The ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump on May 10 following a four-day standoff between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, during which the two sides exchanged missile, drone and artillery fire in one of the most intense military escalations in their recent history.

“Our collaboration helped broker a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, a reminder that when we stand together, even persistent tensions can find a path to peace,” Baker said in her remarks.

“I want to echo President Trump’s deep appreciation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal [Asim] Munir for their leadership and commitment in choosing the path of peace,” she continued, calling their vision “transformative” while hoping to “take the US-Pakistan relationship into new frontiers.”

The US diplomat described the security and defense cooperation between the two countries as a pillar of bilateral partnership.

“For decades, our militaries have trained together, operated together and stood together to address shared threats, from terrorism to regional instability,” she continued. “Through joint exercises, capacity-building programs and military education exchanges, we’ve improved not only the security of our own nations but the safety of the wider region.”

“I want to acknowledge and thank our US and Pakistani military officials for your dedication, sacrifice and shared mission to make both our countries safer – a legacy we deeply honor,” she added.

Baker cited Pakistan’s recent capture and extradition of the Daesh militant responsible for the deadly 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul as a major milestone, saying it reflected growing operational trust between the two countries.

The attack killed 13 American service members and over 160 Afghan civilians during the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Thanks to the leadership and resolve of Pakistan’s military and security authorities, terrorists are being brought to justice,” she said.

“As President Trump noted in his March address to the US Congress, the bravery and wisdom of Pakistan’s leadership has made both of our nations more secure.”

The event marked the 249th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, diplomats, business leaders and civil society representatives.

Baker said the bilateral US-Pakistan relationship had grown stronger across multiple sectors, from security and trade to innovation and cultural exchange.

KARACHI: Pakistan is seeking the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval to supply surplus power to the industrial and agriculture sectors at an unsubsidized tariff of seven to 7.5 cents per unit, the country’s power minister, Awais Leghari, said, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

The once energy-deficient South Asian nation now boasts 7,000 megawatts of surplus electricity that it began generating with Beijing’s help under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“We have been consulting with the IMF for the past six months to approve the scheme,” Leghari told a consultative meeting held in the federal capital Islamabad regarding Pakistan’s transition from solar net metering to a net billing system.

The government plans to generate as much as 60 percent of its power from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear energy over the next five years to cut the cash-strapped country’s oil import bill.

“There is no direct financial pressure on us [from the IMF],” the minister said, adding the move would balance the nation’s supply and demand of electricity, strengthen the power system and benefit consumers.

The Washington-based lender approved a $7 billion loan for Pakistan last year to help support export-led growth and is reviewing the government’s budgetary plans for FY26, starting in July.

According to the National Accounts Committee, Pakistan’s economy is expected to expand by 2.7 percent during the outgoing FY25 due to lackluster agricultural and industrial performance.

The power minister said the government, since June, has provided cross-subsidies of Rs 174 billion ($617 million) to industries, a measure that brought down industrial tariffs by 31 percent and significantly increased consumption.

Under its ongoing energy reforms, the minister said, the government is considering various proposals, including changing the current solar net metering system into a more effective, transparent and sustainable model.

“The government is not abolishing net metering,” he continued, adding that its scope had expanded so significantly that it was now seriously impacting the national grid, thus requiring timely intervention.

In the fast-solarizing Pakistan, net metering allows consumers to utilize the electricity generated by their in-house solar systems and send the surplus to the national grid at an agreed rate.