Washington: The US has told Pakistan that it is important for it to renew an effective campaign against terrorists, a top Trump administration official has said.
The Trump administration officials in their meetings with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi this week also talked about the suspension of the US security assistance since early this year, the White House said.
The Trump administration had announced in January that it would suspend nearly all security aid to Pakistan over its failure to crack down on terrorist networks.
Trump had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.
Qureshi, who was in the US to attend the UN General Assembly session, met National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on October 2.
At a White House news conference, Bolton described the meetings as productive.
When asked if they talked about the suspension of aid to Pakistan and the progress made by Islamabad in the fight against terrorism, Bolton told reporters, “I discussed that with Foreign Minister Qureshi.”
“We had a very productive meeting. He had a very productive meeting,” he said.
“We certainly talked about the suspension of security assistance and the importance that we placed on Pakistan renewing an effective campaign against terrorists,” Bolton said.
They covered a wide range of other issues, as well, he said.
“But I think one of the things we wanted to stress, following up on Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pakistan just a few weeks ago was that we hope with a new government there, that we might be able to turn a page and move forward,” Bolton said.
These are important opening meetings, for the foreign minister in Washington he said.
“I think he believed they were successful, and so we’re going to continue the discussion and see what conclusion we might be able to reach,” Bolton said.
Pentagon asks Pak to use influence over Taliban
A top American general has asked Islamabad to use its influence over Taliban to bring them to the negotiations table and stop cross border movement of their leaders, a day-after Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left US after holding meetings with top Trump Administration officials.
“As we often talk with the military leadership in Pakistan, we need them to continue to stay engaged in this. We need them to help lower the violence in Afghanistan,” US Central Command Commander General Joseph Votel told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.
Pakistan, he said, need to do that by making absolutely sure there are instructions, direction, other things coming from Taliban leadership, which remains in Pakistan, to their fighters on the ground.
“They need to ensure that they continue to ensure there can be no movement back and forth and that fighters can’t come back into Pakistan to get aid or medical care or other things with that. They have to help us lower the violence in Afghanistan,” Votel said.
“And they need to use their influence with the Taliban to force the Taliban leadership to come to the table. And they can do this, they can put pressure on them to do this,” Votel said when asked about Qureshi’s remarks a day earlier in which he claimed that Pakistan has taken appropriate measures against terrorist groups. (PTI)
