US working to address legitimate Pak concerns: Wells

washington — The United States is engaged with Pakistan to address its legitimate concerns and discuss ways of working together, a top US State Department official said, ahead of an official visit by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to Washington.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Wells of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, told a briefing that Pakistani officials have underscored a variety of issues that emanate from ungoverned space in Afghanistan “and we would agree that all of these need to be resolved during the course of a reconciliation process” for Afghan peace.

“They (Pakistan) have concerns over border management; over TTP — the Tehrik-i-Taleban Pakistan’s presence in ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan; and refugee concerns,” said Wells.

Emphasising the important role of Pakistan in the Afghan peace process, Wells said that Islamabad could certainly help to facilitate talks and to take actions that will put pressure on and encourage the Taleban to move forward towards a politically negotiated settlement.

The US official also stated that the Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship was quite important and the US was supportive of the efforts to improve the bilateral relationship. “The two countries have exchanged visits over the last several months to establish a framework agreement, to enhance the bilateral relationship. We support that and think it’s important.”

The remarks by the Deputy Assistant Secretary came as Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua begins her official visit to Washington. Wells said that the Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary will hold meetings with counterparts and government and was also due to meet Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

“I think we’re in the beginning of a process with the Pakistani government,” said Wells while responding to a question. “We’re certainly not walking away from Pakistan. There will be very intensive dialogue through both our military and our civilian channels to discuss how we can work together.”

Replying to a question, the assistant secretary said the US was certainly continuing to engage with Pakistan over areas where it think Islamabad could play a helpful role in changing the calculus of the Taleban.