Talks with Taliban: US to work ‘more closely’ with Pakistan: Alice Wells

WASHINGTON: United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells Friday said President Donald Trump had directed that the United States work together with Pakistan to bring Taliban to the negotiating table; however, he was disappointed after no headway was made.

Speaking to Geo News, Wells said, "We have still not found a way to work more closely with Pakistan to ensure Taliban come to the negotiation table," she added.

Wells asserted, “These set of issues will continue to be important.” “I can assure you through my own efforts that we are always looking for opportunities to strengthen our relationships,” she added. Regarding a scheduled meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington, Wells said, "They will discuss important points about strong partnership." “The most important issue between the two countries is how to work on bilateral relations,” she asserted.

Wells further said, “There are investment opportunities in energy and other sectors in Pakistan and US is looking forward to strengthening its trading ties.” Moreover, she emphasised on working towards stability in Afghanistan. A day earlier, in an interview with BBC Urdu, Wells had said the US wants "positive and constructive" relations with Pakistan. "Pakistan is an important country in the region [South Asia] with an important part to play," she added.

Responding to a question about their expectations from the new government in Pakistan, the US diplomat said, “We have the same expectations from Pakistan that we have from other countries in South Asia.”

“We comply with South Asia’s policy of eradicating ‘non-state actors’ and want to eliminate terrorist activities and proxies in the region,” Wells added.