TRUMP SAYS AMERICA WORKING WITH PAKISTAN FOR WAY OUT OF AFGHAN WAR
▶ Meeting between US president and Prime Minister Imran Khan will seek to smooth strained ties
US President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, yesterday said that Washington is working with Islamabad to find a way out of the war in Afghanistan.
Arriving in a traditional Pakistani Shirwal and Kameez, Mr Khan was escorted by the Mr Trump to the White House where they were scheduled to meet for two hours. Speaking before the meeting Mr Trump emphasised the broad nature of the talks involving Afghanistan, security and trade ties with Pakistan. US bilateral trade with the country reached an all-time high last year, exceeding $6.6 billion according to US government numbers.
On Afghanistan, Mr Trump sounded defiant.
“I could win that war in a week. I don’t want to kill 10 million people … Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the Earth,” he said. “I don’t want to go that route. I have a plan that could win that war in a very short period of time.”
Mr Trump held out the possibility of restoring US aid to Pakistan, depending on what is worked out, and offered assistance to Islamabad in trying to ease strained ties with India.
“If I can help, I would love to be a mediator,” Mr Trump said. “If I can do anything to help, let me know.”
The White House visit is meant to smooth tension and deal with complex problems facing both nations.
The Trump administration wants Islamabad to use its leverage and influence with the Taliban to get a ceasefire in Afghanistan, advance the peace process and create stability so the US president can end or substantially reduce America’s involvement in the war.
Pakistan, which is suffering economically, wants to reset ties and broaden the relationship in hopes of securing more investment, trade and possibly a restoration of US aid cut by Mr Trump.
Mr Khan tried to embellish the strained relations and struck a soft tone in addressing the US President, with whom he shares an unconventional political rise to power. Both have relied on persona and a nationalistic populist tone to rally support, and both come from apolitical backgrounds. Mr Khan was a former cricket captain and Mr Trump a former real estate mogul.
The Pakistani prime minister asked Mr Trump to help resolve the Kashmir dispute with India, and that he would have “Pakistanis’ prayers” if he succeeded in that goal.
But beyond the personal connection, US officials were seeking to press Pakistan on a number of issues, mainly: the peace process in Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and ties with China.
A US official said on a conference call with reporters prior to the meeting that “the purpose of the visit is to press for concrete co-operation from Pakistan to advance the Afghanistan peace process and to encourage Pakistan to deepen and sustain its recent effort to crack down on militants and terrorists within its territory”.
The US is engaged in peace talks with the Taliban, hosting several rounds of talks in Qatar, and Mr Trump has outlined his preference for withdrawal from America’s longest war if such a deal transpires. Security challenges and terrorist attacks claimed by the Taliban have, however, impeded such plans.
As a signal to Washington, Pakistani authorities last week arrested US designated terrorist Hafez Saeed, whose militant group was behind the 2008 attack in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.
Mr Trump welcomed the move but the US appears to be looking for more before it considers resuming any of the $800 million in aid to Islamabad that it withdrew last year. China’s rising influence in Pakistan is also on the agenda, with Beijing pledging to invest $60bn there.
Accompanying Mr Khan on his US visit are his foreign minister Mehmood Qureshi, trade adviser Razzak Dawood, finance adviser Hafeez Pasha, and security officials including the army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the powerful head of the intelligence agency ISI chief, Faiz Hameed, and the head of the media wing of the army General Asif Ghafoor.