Pakistan, US to hold frank talks: Minister
washington — Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said that the United States and Pakistan will have a detailed and frank discussion on all relevant issues when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits Islamabad later this month, media reports said.
The minister’s remarks came hours after United States President Donald Trump expressed his desire to build a much better relationship with Pakistan, also hinting that the two allies were already cooperating with each other on many fronts, Dawnonline and Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Sunday.
This was the second reconciliatory message for Pakistan from the US president in the last three days. In the recent past, Trump has been very critical of Pakistan and in his August 21 speech, he also hinted at the possibility of imposing new sanctions on the country if it did not change the policies that Washington says encourage militancy in the region, say the reorts. Trump says Pakistan’s cooperation is a sign it’s honouring America’s wishes for it to do more. But this changed on Thursday when working on a United States tip Pakistan rescued an American woman, Caitlan Cole, and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, from the clutches of the militants.
Ahsan, when asked to comment on Trump’s statement after an event at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, said the US and Pakistan have had a strong relationship for the last 70 years and both desire to continue these close ties.
He acknowledged that US-Pakistan relations had strained considerably after Trump announced his new South Asia strategy.
“Both sides are now taking steps to mend this relationship. Secretary Tillerson is scheduled to visit Islamabad soon. We will have frank and detailed discussions on all key issues and I hope that this visit will be successful,” Ahsan added. — Agencies