ISLAMABAD: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said he was “hopeful” after his visit to Pakistan. US Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford and the secretary of state arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on an official visit.
During their visit, the dignitaries met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a high-level meeting during which relations between the two countries were discussed along with the Afghan peace process and blockage of $300 million in CSF.
Relations between Pakistan and the US reached an impasse when the Pentagon confirmed it had made a final decision to cancel $300 million in military aid to the country.
According to Reuters, however, the US secretary of state said he was “very pleased” with his meeting with the Pakistani foreign minister.
Ahead of his trip, Pompeo told Reuters that “there are a lot of challenges between our two nations for sure, but we’re hopeful that with the new leadership that we can find common ground and we can begin to work on some of our shared problems together.”
Khan also said he was “optimistic” he could reset Islamabad’s relationship with Washington. “You know I’m a born optimist,” said Khan, adding that “a sportsman always is an optimist. He steps on the field and he thinks he’s going to win.”
Zahid Hussain, a defense analyst and author of two books on militancy in the region, told AP that “the US seems only to see Pakistan through the prism of Afghanistan. The main thing is we would like to be allies with the US but with dignity.”
The secretary of state told reporters shortly before leaving Islamabad that the “broad spectrum” of topics discussed included efforts “to develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan.
“I’m hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the conditions for continued success,” he said, though he added there was a “long way to go” before Washington would resume military assistance.
Foreign MInister Qureshi described his meeting with Pompeo as “excellent.”
With regards to Afghanistan, Pompeo announced the appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad, a high-profile former US ambassador to Kabul, Baghdad and the UN, as the new US special adviser on Afghan reconciliation.
Khalilzad, born in Afghanistan, has been critical of Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process, often blaming the deteriorating security and countrywide chaos in the neighboring country on Pakistan’s military and intelligence agency, accusing them of aiding militants while being a US ally. This claim has been vehemently rejected by Islamabad.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Qureshi said that the US delegates’ visit to Pakistan ended on a positive note, adding that he was also extended an invitation to visit Washington.
“It was a good meeting. They agreed that the ‘blame and shame’ game only exacerbates the situation. Yes, we have different issues and we will be thinking differently, but we also share similar objectives. I felt that today’s meeting set the stage to reset the environment for these bilateral relations,” said Qureshi.
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‘I’m hopeful’ says Pompeo after Pakistan visit
‘I’m hopeful’ says Pompeo after Pakistan visit
- US officials accuse Islamabad of ignoring or even collaborating with groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network
- Pompeo added he would also meet Pakistan's powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa
China says Philippines distorted facts about incident near disputed atoll
BEIJING: China’s defense ministry accused the Philippines on Wednesday of distorting the facts about an incident involving the Chinese coast guard and Filipino fishermen near a South China Sea shoal, a charge Manila strongly rejected.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
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