Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Pakistan reassured the U.S. on Wednesday that it would use its influence to bring Taliban to the negotiating table in war-struck Afghanistan.
“The U.S wants Pakistan to play its role for negotiations and reconciliation in Afghanistan. This is what our policy and desire is. We want peace and stability in Afghanistan, and I have fully assured them in this regard,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at a news conference after a meeting with U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in capital Islamabad.
Pompeo arrived in the capital for a one-day visit, shortly after the U.S. announced a military aid cut of $300 million to Pakistan. On Thursday, he will set out to India.
“America will lead peace talks with the Taliban,” Qureshi added, pointing to a thawing of ties between the two allies on the war on terror.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Wednesday, in the first high-level U.S. visit to the new government, looking to reset relations strained over the war in Afghanistan.
Pompeo meets with Pakistan foreign minister in Islamabad
Pompeo conveyed the U.S desire to work with Pakistan in furthering the shared objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan, the statement added.
In a tweet after the meeting Pompeo said: "In #Pakistan with my colleague friend CJCS Gen Joe Dunford. Today we met with PM @ImranKhanPTI FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi to discuss our diplomatic military to military relationship. @StateDept."
U.S. army chief Gen. Joseph Dunford also accompanied the U.S. secretary of state.
The Pakistani foreign minister observed that a lingering diplomatic deadlock between Pakistan and the U.S had been broken by Pompeo’s visit.
“There had been a long deadlock in relations between the two sides. But the situation has totally changed in this meeting,” he said.
Responding to a question regarding the aid cut, Qureshi said: "We do not have a give and take relation with the U.S. We are a sovereign nation, and we do not want to talk about money but about principles."
He added that Pompeo had extended him an invitation to visit Washington, which he accepted.
Newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday accepted the resignation of one of his advisors, the Prime Minister House said.Babar Awan, an advisor to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, resigned on Tuesday evening when the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption case against the former Water And Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and the then law minister.Awan was the law minister during center-left Pakistan People’s Party’s government from 2008-2013.Later, he left the party and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Khan appointed Awan as his advisor after assuming the office of the premier on Aug. 18.According to the NAB, the former ministers are facing the corruption charges for the delay in Nandipur power project which caused a loss of Rs. 27 billion ($219 million) to the national exchequer.However, Awan has rejected the allegations. "[I] Requested NAB several times to grant me my right to defend myself against false allegations but I was never given that chance since day first, " Awan said in a Twitter post.
Advisor to newly-elected Pakistani premier resigns
Other visits
Earlier on Wednesday, Pompeo met newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Khan said that his government's agenda was focused on human development and poverty alleviation for which peace and stability in the region was a pre-requisite. He underscored his commitment to peace with all neighbors, according to a statement released from the prime minister house.
Pompeo conveyed the desire of the U.S. administration to work with Pakistan to achieve the common objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, the statement added.