WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States have shared interests of peace and stability in Afghanistan, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a press briefing Wednesday.
The statement from the State Department that Pakistan is an important partner on various fronts came after a couple of hard-hitting statements from the Pakistani leadership slamming the US for pushing in the terror war.
“Pakistan has been a helpful and constructive partner when it comes to Afghanistan and our collective efforts to bring about some semblance of peace and security there,” the spokesperson added.
Price said the interests of the United States and Pakistan go well beyond that and include broader counterterrorism interests and the people-to-people ties that unite our two countries.
He said all of Afghanistan’s neighbours need to play a constructive role in helping bring durable political settlement as well as a comprehensive ceasefire.
He said the United States is going to work very closely to ensure that Afghanistan’s neighbours play a constructive role in Afghanistan.
PAKISTAN, US SEEK PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT: ENVOY: With the United States nearing the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, an inclusive political approach in the war-battered country will best serve the shared interests of both Islamabad and Washington in the region, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan has said.
Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, where he was invited for a discussion on “The Next Chapter in Pakistan-US Relations” on Wednesday, Khan cited Afghanistan as an area of convergence between Islamabad and Washington as both sides wanted to see a peaceful settlement in the country.
“This is why it was important to invest in the Afghan peace process at this critical time,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, at the State Department, its spokesperson Ned Price called Pakistan “an important partner” on various fronts and said that both countries shared interests for durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has been helpful in — recently when it comes to this shared interest. Our shared interests go well beyond that: broader counterterrorism interests as well, not to mention the people-to-people ties that unite our two countries,” Price said in response to a question at the daily press briefing.
The United States, he said, was going to work very closely to ensure that Afghanistan’s neighbours play a constructive role in promoting a peaceful settlement there.
In his remarks at the USIP, which was moderated by former US ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson, the ambassador said that the “Extended Troika” declarations issued by Pakistan, China, Russia and the US could serve as a template for coordinated messaging by the key regional and international stakeholders on the need for a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.
