ISLAMABAD – Lisa Curtis, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump hasvoiced US concerns about what she termed Pakistan’s “deficiencies” inpreventing terrorist-financing during her two-day trip to the nuclear-armedSouth Asian nation.
Relations between the allies plummeted again last week when Washingtonpersuaded member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to putPakistan link> back on the watchlist ofnations with inadequate terrorist financing or money laundering controls.
The US move infuriated Islamabad amid fears it could hurt the fragileeconomy of Pakistan link> , whose de factofinance minister accused Washington of trying to “embarrass” his country.
“Ms Curtis said that the United States seeks to move toward a newrelationship with Pakistan link> , based ona shared commitment to defeat all terrorist groups that threaten regionalstability,” the US embassy said in a statement.
This new relationship would also be based on a “shared vision of a peacefulfuture for Afghanistan”, the embassy added.
Tensions with historic ally Washington have pushed Pakistanlink>further into the arms of China,officials and analysts say. Closer diplomatic and military ties betweenBeijing and Islamabad have come at a time when China is helping Pakistan’seconomy grow by investing billions in infrastructure projects.
The United States and Pakistan link> haveclashed over militants waging war in Afghanistan, with Washington accusingIslamabad of providing safe havens to the Afghan Taliban and theiraffiliate, the Haqqani network. Pakistanlink> denies helping the militants, sayingthe Islamist fighters are mostly across the border.
“Ms Curtis urged the Government ofPakistanlink> to address the continuing presence ofthe Haqqani network and other terrorist groups within its territory,” theembassy added.
The Trump administration suspended about $2 billion in security assistanceto Pakistan link> in January, days after theUS president tweeted that Pakistan link> hasgiven nothing but “lies and deceit” in return for generous aid.
Islamabad responded that it doesn’t need Washington’s money but wants,instead, respect for the vast sacrifices it has made in the war on terror.
Curtis, who is also the US National Security Council’s senior director forSouth and Central Asia, also raised Washington’s worries about gaps inPakistan’s anti-terrorist financing controls, a frequent criticism byWestern powers who say not enough is done to curb fund-raising by militants.