Pakistan, US seeking end to Afghan war

BEIJING: Pakistan and USA are on the same page, seeking to end the Afghan war, says China Daily while commenting on just concluded visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Washington.

The Daily in article stated that US President Donald Trump focused his talks with Imran Khan on afghan issue. He has claimed that he could end the nearly two-decade old war in Afghanistan in a matter of days, but it would kill millions of people and wipe the country "off the face of the earth".

So, he preferred to go for a peaceful settlement of the issue. Trump praised Prime Minister Imran Khan and sought his help in negotiating a peace deal in neighboring Afghanistan.

Warming up to Khan marked a turnaround for Trump, who has been sharply critical of Pakistan and now hopes Khan's government will use its influence with the Taliban to advance a peace deal and help the United States withdraw from the nearly two-decade old war.

According to the report, President Donald Trump received a positive response from Imran Khan, moving ahead to make the ongoing talks on Afghan issue successful.

The pleasantries in the Oval Office were an abrupt change from when Trump cut millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, saying the only thing it offered the US was "lies" and "deceit".

Khan has bashed Trump too, but now says Pakistan is also eager to work to end the war. The US wants Pakistan to use its leverage to get the Taliban to agree to a cease-fire, negotiate with the Afghan government and stop harboring militant groups. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been holding talks with the Taliban for months, but so far the militant group has refused to talk directly to the Afghan government. There has been no letup in terrorist attacks during the US-Taliban talks.