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Journalism of Courage
US Defence Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday said Pakistan must take on a substantive role in peace talks with the Taliban and support the efforts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all those who are trying to maintain peace in South Asia.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Pakistan PM Imran Khan in which he made clear that Islamabad’s assistance was “fundamental” to the health of the two countries’ strained relationship. Trump has requested full support of Pakistan for the US effort to advance the Afghan peace process and for US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s trip to the region, Reuters reported.
“We are on that track. It is diplomatically led as it should be, and we’ll do our best to protect the Afghan people,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Ties between Pakistan and the United States have strained ever since Donald Trump became the president. Last month, Trump said Pakistan does not do “a damn thing” for the US, alleging that Islamabad had helped al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden hide near its garrison city of Abbottabad. In September, the Trump administration cancelled USD 300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban active on its soil.
The Trump administration, in the recent months, has intensified its efforts to seek a negotiated settlement of America’s longest war in Afghanistan where the US has lost over 2,400 soldiers since late 2001 when it invaded the country after the 9/11 terror attacks.
The Taliban are fighting to flush out US-led international forces and re-establish their regime in Afghanistan after their ouster in 2001.
(Inputs from PTI)
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