*WASHINGTON – **US State Department breaks silence over PM Khan meetingwith President Donald Trump.*
*The recent meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister ImranKhan gave then a chance to build a personal connection and rapport, said USState Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus during a weekly press briefingon Thursday. *
“And now we think it’s time to make progress on the success of this firstmeeting,” she said. To a question on what the US’s reaction was to hisadmission that Pakistan still has 30,000 to 40,000 militants, she said “Oneof the things that the prime minister says that he vowed to urge theTaliban to negotiate with the Afghan government”. PM Khan made thisstatement during a visit to the US Institute of Peace at the tail-end ofhis three-day US visit.
“We are committed to peace in Afghanistan. We think that was an importantstep. And there were a number of issues that were discussed not only inthe president’s meeting but with the secretary’s meeting as well, and nowis the time to build upon that meeting and to build upon thosecommitments,” she said.
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She also discussed the release of US hostages mentioned during the twoleaders’ meeting and the passing of PM Khan’s 48-hour deadline for “goodnews”. “This administration has a very strong record, actually, on gettingAmerican hostages returned. We take human lives incredibly seriously, andwe will use every means available at our disposal to secure and to see thesecure and safe return of American citizens who are held hostage abroad. Weare, of course, working closely with the Pakistanis on recovering them,”she said.
