Top-level American diplomats held a series of face-to-face talks with their Pakistani counterparts in Islamabad on Monday in an attempt to ease tensions following the Trump administration’s sharp criticism over Islamabad’s record in the global war on terrorism.
Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells, alongside U.S. Ambassador David Hale, met Monday with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and members of the National Security Council. The visit was the first since the Trump administration announced plans to withhold $225 million in foreign assistance to Pakistan this month over long-standing concerns about the government’s unwillingness to take on terrorist groups within its borders.
The sanctions were designed to pressure Islamabad to end what Washington has said is support for terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network and Tehrik-i-Taliban, the Pakistani faction of the Afghanistan-based Islamist organization.
Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, accused Islamabad of playing “a double game for years” over its selective support of certain Pakistani-based terrorist groups. President Trump on New Year’s Day lashed out at what he said was Pakistan’s support for extremists and tweeted about Islamabad’s involvement in providing “safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan.”
Mr. Trump’s blueprint for the war in Afghanistan, released last summer, also contained some harsh words for Pakistan’s role in the conflict.
But Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Monday on a trip to Brussels that Pakistan was too important to be written off by the Pentagon.
“Do we agree on everything right now? No, we don’t. But are we committed to a more effective relationship with Pakistan? We are. And I’m not giving up on that,” Gen. Dunford said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Islamabad has repeatedly denied charges that it supports or tolerates terrorist groups along its remote border lands, citing its robust counterterrorism operations in the federal tribal areas along its border with Afghanistan.
Ms. Wells on Monday publicly acknowledged Islamabad’s efforts to stamp out extremist groups in the region and “conveyed the U.S. desire to work with Pakistan in furthering the shared objectives of stabilizing Afghanistan,” according to an official statement on the meetings from the country’s Foreign Office.
Mr. Janjua said Washington and Islamabad “should move forward their relationship under an environment of mutual trust and respect.”
The dangers Pakistan faces were underscored again Monday when officials said militants opened fire on a paramilitary convoy in the country’s southwest, killing at least six troops and wounding four others.
Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, the top elected official in the Baluchistan province, told The Associated Press that the attack took place in the town of Turbat, about 600 miles south of the provincial capital, Quetta.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Baluchistan is home to a low-level insurgency by separatists and tribes that want greater local autonomy. Islamic militants have also carried out attacks there.
During Monday’s meeting, Ms. Wells said Pakistan’s support remained critical to the success of the war in neighboring Afghanistan, according to an official statement.
Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of Central Command, and Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, head of Pakistan’s army, have remained in “continuous communication” since the Trump administration announced plans to block millions of dollars in foreign aid and military support to Pakistan.
“We value mutual understanding of interests and concerns that we need to consider and might lead to a positive path forward,” command spokesman Col. John Thomas told Reuters late last week.
⦁ This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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