PESHAWAR – The Trump administration has voiced stout support for thenormalisation of Kabul link>-Islamabadrelations that led to Pakistan link> PrimeMinister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s visit to Kabul this week.

Pakistan had taken steps to combat terrorismon its soil but more“sustainable and irreversible” actions were needed to eradicate the menace,a senior US diplomat said in an interview published on Monday.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wellstold The Hindu: “The Afghanistanlink>-Pakistantalks have been underway ever since Gen Bajwa went to Kabul in October2017.”

In response to the suggestion that Abbasi’s visit was one of the outcomesof her recent trips to Kabul and Islamabad, she said:“We are verysupportive of that, but it is not a US process.

“I think it is an excellent initiative between the leaders of Afghanistanand Pakistan to strengthen their bilateral relationship,” the diplomatadded.

Until the neighbours had more normal relations, she said, it was impossibleto talk about broader reconciliation. “We support the framework agreementthat they are seeking to formalise and the action groups that are embeddedin it.”

She went on to stress concrete steps to improve the relations between thetwo countries on all fronts — from bilateral trade to border managementand the presence of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism, Wells acknowledged: “I alwayssay that terrorists who attack Pakistan are also enemies of the UnitedStates. We have an agenda, we believe we have shared interests and Pakistanhas a stake in a stable Afghanistan. So how do we make that calculus work?”