ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States delegates emphasised the importance of deeper cooperation and better bilateral relations to deal with the menace of terrorism during a meeting, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday.
Zakaria said that this was decided during a meeting between a 10-member delegation from the US, led by Deputy Assistant to the President Lisa Curtis, and a delegation from Pakistan, led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.
Status of bilateral relations in diverse areas, regional situation incl situation in Afg, #HRViolationsinIoK, Indo-Pak rel were discussed pic.twitter.com/exadbNV3yJ
— M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) October 12, 2017
The status of Pak-US relations in diverse areas, regional situations, including Kashmir human right violations, relations with eastern neighbour India and situation in Afghanistan, were discussed.
He added, “Both sides noted the importance of better understanding [and] deeper coop to deal with challenges particularly terrorism that is a common enemy.”
On October 4, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a meeting with Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.
In a meeting on October 4, US Secretary Rex Tillerson said Pakistan’s partnership is necessary for the long-term stability in the South Asian region. “Not just Afghanistan, but it is the importance of Pakistan and Pakistan’s long-term stability as well,” he remarked while speaking about US’s policy towards South Asia.
“We want Pakistan’s government to be stable, peaceful.. many of the same issues they are struggling inside Pakistan are our issues. So we think there is an opportunity to strengthen that relationship.”
Earlier, Pakistan and US relationship started to get worse when US President Donald Trump criticised Pakistan’s policies in his new Afghanistan policy, and accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists. However, the relations began to improve when Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif met the US authorities, while Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal is also on a three-day visit to the US.