ISLAMABAD – The top US diplomat had once again arrived in Pakistanstirring speculations about her second visit in days.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs AliceWells visited Islamabad for a second time in a month.
Earlier, Wells had visited Islamabad and Karachi from March 28 to April 3and held meetings with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, National SecurityAdviser Nasser Khan Janjua and army chief Qamar Jawed Bajwa among others.
Yesterday, Wells held another round of talks with Tehmina, pressingIslamabad to act against the Haqqani Network along the Pak-Afghan border.
Wells appreciated Pakistan’s role in the war on terror but insisted thatmore was needed to be done.
One official said: “The meeting was held in a cordial manner but the demandonce again was to ‘do more’. We (Pakistan) counted our achievements in theanti-terror war.”
Another official said: “Wells spoke about the Afghan complaints regardingalleged double game by Pakistan. The foreign secretary assured Wells thatPakistan was sincere in eliminating terrorism in its own interest. Wellsmade it clear that Pak-US ties were linked with Pakistan’s role againstterrorism.”
During her last visit, Ambassador Wells discussed the South Asia strategyand Pakistan’s stated commitment to eliminate all terrorist groups presentwithin its borders, as well as Pak-US shared interest in building economicand commercial ties that benefit both the nations.
Regarding her last visit, a US embassy statement had said: “In theaftermath of the Tashkent conference on Afghanistan, Ambassador Wells notedthe growing international consensus on the way forward to achieving peacein Afghanistan and the meaningful role that Pakistan, partnering with theUnited States, could play in achieving a peaceful resolution inAfghanistan.”
Pakistan is under the US pressure to itself find the ‘common ground’ tomove forward. Washington believes Pakistan is responsible for the decliningtrust level.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said Pakistan and the USwere yet to find ‘common ground’ on a range of issues.