ISLAMABAD: Pakistani national security advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf said on Monday he had met Jake Sullivan, his United States counterpart on Sunday and held “positive discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.”
Earlier this month, the Pakistani army chief offered Islamabad’s support for the Afghanistan peace process in a meeting with President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul amid growing violence as the United States withdraws its troops.
Pakistan is a key player in moves to resolve the conflict between the Kabul government and the Taliban insurgents.
In the past, Islamabad has been accused of harboring the Taliban - a charge it denies - but in recent years Washington and other Western powers have acknowledged its efforts to push the militant group to take part in peace talks.
“The National Security Advisers of Pakistan and the United States of America met in Geneva yesterday,” Yusuf’s office said in a statement. “Both sides had a positive conversation on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and agreed to advance practical cooperation on these issues.”
In a tweet, Yusuf said: “Both sides agreed to continue the conversation to advance cooperation in Pak-US bilateral relations.”
In recent weeks, Pakistan has been negotiating with the insurgents to try to get them to commit to a ceasefire, media has reported. Pakistan is also trying to persuade them to agree to an extension of the US-Taliban agreement which stipulated US and other foreign forces should withdraw by May and to continue to take part in planned peace talks.
But violence has risen starkly in recent weeks as the US forces pull out.