US in damage control as senior diplomat visits Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A senior US diplomat on Monday arrived in Islamabad to hold meetings with Pakistani officials, the  first visit from a senior American official since President Trump’s New Year Tweet in which he accused Pakistan of giving Washington nothing but “lies and deceit”.

Citing Pakistan Foreign Office, Geo TV reported that Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells reached Pakistan on Monday and held a meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.

According to the TV cahnnel, bilateral relations between the two countries came under discussion in the meeting.

The visit comes on the heels of a phone call from US Centcom Commander to the Pakistan’s army chief on Saturday in which he said Pakistan has suffered hugely due to great power contestation in the region.

The statement cited General Bajwa as saying Pakistan will not seek resumption of aid but expect honorable recognition of its contributions, sacrifices and unwavering resolve in fight against terrorism for peace and stability in the region.

Tension between the United States and Pakistan has grown over US. complaints that the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network that target American troops in Afghanistan are allowed to take shelter on Pakistani soil.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said on Friday it was in “continuous communication” with Pakistan’s military, after Pakistan’s army said its top general “felt betrayed” at U.S. criticism it was not doing enough to fight terrorism.

Trump’s administration announced the suspension of about $2 billion in security aid to Islamabad over accusations Islamabad is playing a double game in Afghanistan.