Working on addressing Pakistan’s legitimate concerns: US

WASHINGTON: The United States is engaged with Pakistan to address its legitimate concerns and discuss ways of working together, a top US State Department official said on Monday, ahead of an official visit by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to Washington.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Wells of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs told in a briefing that Pakistani officials had underscored a variety of issues that emanated from ungoverned space in Afghanistan and “we would agree that all of these need to be resolved during the course of a reconciliation process for Afghan peace”. “They (Pakistan) have concerns over border management, over TTP the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s presence in ungoverned space in Afghanistan, refugee concerns,” said Wells who returned this weekend after attending the Kabul Conference which was participated by some 25 countries, including Pakistan. Emphasising the important role of Pakistan in the Afghan peace process, Wells said Islamabad could certainly help to facilitate talks and to take actions that would put pressure on and encourage the Taliban to move forward towards a politically negotiated settlement. The US official also stated that the Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship was quite important and the US was supportive of the efforts to improve the bilateral ties. “The two countries have exchanged visits over the last several months to establish a framework agreement, to enhance the bilateral relationship. We support that and think it’s important.”