Pak suspends talks with US over Trump remarks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has suspended talks and bilateral visits with the US to protest against President Donald Trump’s speech in which he censured Islamabad for providing safe havens to terror groups, foreign minister Khawaja Asif reportedly said during an in-camera session of the Senate.
The upper house of Parliament was converted into a committee on Monday for a private discussion on proposals being framed by a Senate panel to help the government finalise its response to Trump’s policy for Afghanistan.
Local media quoted sources as saying that Asif told the Senate that Pakistan had taken Trump’s remarks “seriously” and suspended talks and bilateral visits.
Asif postponed his first trip to Washington after becoming foreign minister and a visit to Pakistan by the US acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Alice Wells, had also been postponed, he said.
Asif also told the Senate that the new US policy for South Asia did not envisage a military role for India in Afghanistan.
Foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua said a three-day meeting of Pakistan’s envoys had been convened to forge a strategy to respond to the US policy.
In a related development, Pakistan and China joined hands on Monday to oppose the new US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia, saying there should be a political solution to the longrunning conflict.
The statement came as China’s special envoy on Afghan affairs, Deng Xijun, visited Islamabad and held talks with foreign secretary Janjua on regional and international efforts for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Asif is expected to go on a tour of regional countries, starting with China, to garner support in the face of renewed strains in the ties with the US.