WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House meeting with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, said on Monday the United States is working with Islamabad to find a way out of the war in Afghanistan.
Trump held out the possibility of restoring US aid to Pakistan, depending upon what is worked out, and offered assistance to Islamabad in trying to ease strained ties with India.
Khan told Trump there was only one solution for Afghanistan and that a peace deal with the Taliban was closer than it had ever been. He said he hoped in the coming days to be able to urge the Taliban to continue the talks.
The United States views Pakistan’s cooperation with a deal to end the 17-year-old war as essential but the two countries have a complicated relationship.
Trump wants to wrap up US military involvement in Afghanistan and sees Pakistan’s cooperation as crucial to any deal to end the war and ensure the country does not become a base for militant groups like Islamic State.
Washington wants Islamabad to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban into a permanent cease-fire and participation in talks with the Afghan government.
Trump last year slashed millions of dollars of security assistance to Islamabad, which it accused of serving as a safe haven for militants. Pakistan has denied the accusations.
Authorities in Pakistan last week arrested Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of a 2008 militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai who has been designated a terrorist by the United States and the United Nations. More than 160 people were killed in the four-day siege.
But Pakistan has not released Shakil Afridi, the jailed doctor believed to have helped the CIA track down former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, whose organization was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
India, which in February came close to war with Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir and which accuses Islamabad of supporting militants, will be watching the talks in Washington closely.
The Pentagon said Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, will meet later on Monday with the top American military officer, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford.
Analysts believe Bajwa will play a key role in behind-the-scenes discussions in which much of the serious business of the visit will take place, with the military looking to persuade Washington to restore aid and cooperation.
Trump says US working with Pakistan to find way out of Afghan war
Trump says US working with Pakistan to find way out of Afghan war
- The US president held out the possibility of restoring US aid to Pakistan, depending upon what is worked out
- He also offered assistance to Islamabad in trying to ease strained ties with India
Pakistan says operation against Afghan forces to continue until objectives are achieved
- Fighting started this week after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani military installations in retaliation for earlier strikes
- Afghan government spokesperson says air defense attacks were carried out Pakistan aircraft in Kabul on Sunday morning
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military’s operation against Afghanistan forces along the border is still underway and will continue until all objectives are achieved, state media reported on Sunday citing security sources.
The latest round of clashes between the two sides began on Thursday night after Afghanistan’s forces attacked Pakistani military installations along their shared border.
The worst fighting between the neighbors in several years began after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan earlier this month, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
“The security sources said Operation Ghazb Lil-Haq is still underway and will continue until objectives are achieved,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media said Pakistan’s army has taken control of an Afghan Taliban military post at the border in northwestern Pakistan.
It shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan from the northwestern North Waziristan area to capture the Afghan post on the other side of the border.
Arab News could not independently verify the claims.
Earlier during the day, gunshots and explosions were reported in Kabul. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the sounds were the result of Afghan forces targeting Pakistani aircraft over the capital.
“Air defense attacks were carried out in Kabul against Pakistani aircraft,” Mujahid wrote on X. “Kabul residents should not be concerned.”
Since the conflict began this week, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
