WASHINGTON: A US State Department spokesperson has said that Pakistan is animportant partner of the United States and both countries benefitted fromthe bilateral cooperation, but observed that the Trump administration wouldlike Islamabad to ‘do more’ through cooperation.
Spokesperson Heather Nauert made these remarks at a briefing a day afterTrump made remarks against Pakistan in a tweet that evoke a strong reactionfrom the government. The National Security Committee (NSC) that met withPrime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair also expressed its deepdisappointment over the statement.
The NSC also agreed that in spite of all unwarranted allegations, Pakistanwould remain committed to playing a constructive role towards an Afghan-ledand Afghan-owned process, not just for the sake of its own people but alsofor the peace and security of the region and international community.
The State Department spokesperson said that both Islamabad and Washingtonbenefitted from the bilateral cooperation. “We’re not the only ones whobenefit from it. But they (Pakistan) have a lot to gain through additionalcooperation on the issues of terrorism,” she said.
To a question on the reports of withholding of aid from Pakistan, she saidit was not a new announcement and came out in August, but for some reasons,people got interested in it again. “But this is not a new announcement,”she added.
Asked to describe the state of the US-Pakistan relationship right now, thespokesperson said: “Pakistan is an important partner. We have a lot ofissues in that region. Pakistan knows that, we all know that, and we try towork carefully together on some of those issues.”
When asked to comment on the recent tweet by the US president, thespokesperson maintained that his “concerns” were nothing new and he hadexpressed that concern months ago.
When a questioner drew the attention of the spokesperson towards the praiseand acknowledgement by the US government of Pakistan’s help in rescuing theCanadian-American couple from Taliban captivity and whether it counted, thespokesperson said the US government was pleased with the cooperation byPakistan.
“But they can do more,” she echoed an oft-repeated US stance.