ISLAMABAD: US Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for South and Central Asia Lisa Curtis on Monday held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua during an emergency visit to the country.
Pak-US relations, which have witnessed a downward trend after President Donald Trump’s new year tweet, were discussed during the huddle held at the Foreign Office.
The situation in Afghanistan and bilateral relations also came under discussion during the meeting.
Trump’s tweet was followed by US withholding $255 million in aid to Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of failing to cooperate fully in the fight against terrorism. “The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had said.
“They work with us at times, and they also harbour the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan,” she had said. “That game is not acceptable to this administration. We expect far more cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. The president is willing to go to great lengths to stop all funding from Pakistan as they continue to harbour terrorists.”
Shortly afterward, the White House had said it wanted to see Pakistan ‘do more’ to fight terrorism and that it would likely announce further actions to pressure Islamabad.
Published in Daily Times, February 27th 2018.
