The national security advisers (NSA) of Pakistan and therefore the us met within the US capital on Thursday, where they discussed the “urgent need for reduction in violence and a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan”.
NSA Moeed Yusuf and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan waited till Thursday evening to verify their meeting, posting brief tweets stating that their talks also covered other problems with mutual interest.
This was the second meeting between the 2 officials who first met in Geneva in March.
“Had a positive follow-up meeting with NSA Jake Sullivan today in Washington,” Yusuf said in his tweet. “Took stock of progress made since our Geneva meeting and discussed bilateral, regional and global problems with mutual interest.”
Had a positive follow-up meeting with NSA @JakeSullivan46 today in Washington. Took stock of progress made since our Geneva meeting & discussed bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Agreed to sustain the momentum in Pak-US bilateral cooperation.
— Moeed W. Yusuf (@YusufMoeed) July 30, 2021
Yusuf also said that the 2 sides “agreed to sustain the momentum in Pak-US bilateral cooperation”.
He didn’t mention Afghanistan among the problems discussed within the meeting but Sullivan devoted half his tweet to the Afghan issue.
“I met with Pakistan’s NSA today to consult on regional connectivity and security, and other areas of mutual cooperation,” he said.
I met with Pakistan’s NSA today to consult on regional connectivity and security, and other areas of mutual cooperation. We discussed the urgent need for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan and a negotiated political settlement to the conflict.
— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) July 30, 2021
“We discussed the urgent need for a discount in violence in Afghanistan and a negotiated political settlement to the conflict.”
The icebreaker in Geneva was the primary highest-level physical contact between the 2 countries since the Biden administration took office.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken had spoken twice to the secretary of state Shah Mahmood Qureshi and military Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa before the Geneva meeting. Similarly, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had also been in-tuned with Gen Bajwa.
The US wants Pakistan to play its vital role, says Blinken
Blinken, who returned to Washington on Thursday evening after a visit to India and Kuwait, told an Indian channel earlier within the day that Pakistan features a vital influence on the Taliban and therefore us wants Islamabad to play that role.
“Pakistan features a vital role to play in using its influence with the Taliban to try to do whatever it can to form sure that the Taliban doesn’t seek to require the country by force,” he told the days of India TV. “And it does have influence, and it does have a task to play, and that we hope that it plays it,” he added.
During his two-day stay in India, Blinken met External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and reviewed the newest developments within the region, particularly in Afghanistan, with them.
In an interview with ABC News, the highest US diplomat said that he had received “deeply, deeply troubling” reports of atrocities in Afghanistan amid US withdrawal. And such reports “certainly don’t speak well of the Taliban’s intentions for the country as an entire .”
In another interview to Al Jazeera, Blinken warned that an Afghanistan that doesn’t respect the essential gains of the last 20 years “will be a pariah within the international community”.
The interviews, released by the secretary’s office in Washington, reflect the growing US concern that the Taliban were determined to require Kabul by force, rejecting international efforts for bringing a government that has all Afghan factions.
Committed to withdrawing all US and Nato troops from Afghanistan by September 15, the Biden administration is now using its diplomatic influence to stop a Taliban takeover and that’s where it sees a task for Pakistan.
While Pakistan also wants to stop a military takeover in Kabul, Prime Minister Imran Khan told a US television program in the week that the US decision to line a timetable for withdrawing troops had narrowed Islamabad’s options also.
The prime minister indicated that the Taliban see the withdrawal as their victory and are less receptive to reconciliation efforts than they might are had the timetable not been announced.
The Pakistani team, which arrived in Washington three days ago, is additionally busy explaining its position in meetings with senior US officials, lawmakers, think factory experts and media representatives.
It is not clear if Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who is additionally in Washington for the talks, attended the meeting
