Pakistan says the future of its mercurial relationship with the United States rests on the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“My road to Washington is via Kabul and that’s why the first destination I chose to visit was Kabul,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.
His remarks came during a speech at the US Institute for Peace on Wednesday — a day after meetings with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
The Trump administration, accusing Islamabad of shielding Haqqani Network militants, has been critical of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan. The US has also cut military assistance to the ally.
“We cannot and should not be held responsible” for America’s failure in Afghanistan, the foreign minister said, arguing the blame game would not help fix bilateral relations.
Qureshi promised Pakistan would exhaust all its options to help convince moderate Taliban leaders into launching negotiations with the US and the Afghan government.
“’Pakistan is willing and will use all our influence to do that … there is no other way to end the war in Afghanistan,” he told the audience at the Washington think-tank.
“Useful, engaging and forward-looking,” Qureshi said of his talks with Pompeo. “I am going back with a positive view of hope and change.”
The Taliban resurgence and a halt to US military aid to Pakistan are the main issues which reportedly hampered progress at Qureshi’s meetings with the top US diplomats.
He added the US emphasis on finding a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan was what Pakistan had long been suggesting. The military mission had failed to end the conflict, he continued.
