Washington and Islamabad engaged at high-level to promote mutual understanding
WASHINGTON: Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua has underlined the need for collaboration between Pakistan and United States as the two sides held a series of meetings this week in a bid to repair the strained relationship.
Ms. Janjua said that Islamabad and Washington are engaged at high-level to promote mutual understanding and discuss ways to work together for the common goal of regional stability and to better understand each other’s perspectives on Afghanistan and other regional issues.
During a briefing to foreign media in Washington, the Foreign Secretary said recent high level exchanges between the two countries are meant to better understand each other’s perspective.
Pakistan and the United States, she said, have been successful partners in fighting terrorism and eliminating Al-Qaeda. She reiterated Pakistan’s strong resolve to eradicating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations from its soil.
“Peace in Pakistan is linked to peace and stability in Afghanistan and Islamabad supports an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process to bring peace to the war-torn country,” Tehmina Janjua said.
The Foreign Secretary said in her meetings with US officials, she apprised them of Pakistan’s concern over the border management and the existence of safe havens in Afghanistan being used by terrorists against Pakistan.
In Washington DC Janjua underlined during her meetings that a “mutually beneficial Pakistan-US relationship underpinned by mutual respect would serve the common interests of both countries,” the embassy said.
Replying to a question about the prevailing tension between Pakistan and India and cross-LoC firing, the Foreign Secretary said India is trying to create tension along the LoC to divert world attention from its internal strife.
Janjua’s visit to the US is part of the high-level exchanges between the two countries in the wake of tensions following US President Donald Trump’s New Year tweet that accused Islamabad of “backing Afghan militants”.
During her two-day official visit to Washington, Janjua held discussions with senior American officials including US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan at the State Department and Deputy National Security Advisor Dr Nadia Schadlow at the White House.
The diplomat also held addressed a press briefing attended by Washington-based Pakistani journalists and said that Islamabad was fighting the war against terror in its “own national interest” and not doing so for at the behest of any other country.
She cited the national consensus on fighting extremism and terrorism as laid out in the National Action Plan.
