US, Pakistan fail to make headway in talks on terror

Ambassador Alice Wells visited Islamabad today for meetings with Foreign Secretary Janjua and other senior officials. In her meetings, she discussed the status of the United States’ South Asia strategy and efforts to make progress on regional security and stability. US EMBASSY STATEMENT

ISLAMABAD:ANOTHER round of Pakistan-us talks aimed at getting Islamabad to fulfil Washington’s expectations regarding terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan ended without any breakthrough as officials struggled to find common ground.

The talks between Alice Wells of the state department’s bureau of South and Central Asian affairs and foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua ended on Monday with two new issues added to the “complicated agenda”, Dawn newspaper reported.

Pakistan and the US struggled to find “common ground” on Afghanistan and other regional issues, The Express Tribune quoted officials as saying.

Wells was on a day-long visit to Islamabad, her second trip in a month, for talks with Janjua in the wake of the US stepping up pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror groups such as the Taliban and Lashkar-e-taiba.

The Dawn quoted a diplomatic source as saying that two new issues were added to the agenda – restrictions to be imposed on Pakistani diplomats in the US from May 1 and the traffic accident involving the US defence attaché that resulted in the death of a man. Pakistan has demanded waiver of diplomatic immunity so that he can be prosecuted.

The Tribune quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying there was no tangible progress in the meeting. “Talks remained inconclusive,” the official said, adding the only positive thing was that the two sides were still talking.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal only tweeted a photo of Wells with Janjua and no statement was issued after the meeting.

The Trump administration has indicated it intends to hold Pakistan accountable “for its failure to deny sanctuary to militant proxies” and “encourage restraint in Pakistan’s military nuclear and missile programs”. The US has also called on Pakistan to take decisive action against all terrorist groups based on its soil.