On the eve of his visit to Islamabad, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the U.S. policy toward Pakistan will be based on whether the country takes toward Afghan reconciliation and peace and stable future for itself.
Tillerson’s remarks made during a brief stop in Kabul came ahead of his meetings on Tuesday with Pakistani leaders in capital Islamabad.
The U.S.-Pakistan ties are viewed as critical to regional stability. Washington wants greater Pakistani efforts to curb the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, while Islamabad wants to make the relationship broader, one that takes into accounts its regional economic and security interests.
Last week following a period of tough diplomacy, Pakistan and the U.S. made a breakthrough in their bilateral cooperation with the resumption of official dialogue over future strategy on Afghanistan and rest of the issues in the South Asia. A meeting on Afghan reconciliation has also taken place.
The continuing high-level meetings mark continuation of consultations that will likely shape the future of Islamabad-Washington ties – strained further by President Donald Trump’s scathing criticism of the country at the time of his unveiling a new U.S. Afghan strategy.
![Rex Tillerson at his confirmation hearing January 2017 By Office of the President-elect [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.viewsnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Rex_Tillerson_confirmation_hearing_cropped.jpg)
A January 2017 photo, Credit: Office of the President-elect/ Wikimedia Commons
Meanwhile, during his visit to Kabul, Tillerson said: “We have made some very specific requests of Pakistan in order for them to take action to undermine the support the Taliban receives and other terrorist organizations receive.”
According to a Reuters report, the top American diplomat also noted that the U.S. policy toward Pakistan “will be based upon whether they take action that we feel is necessary to move the process forward for both creating opportunity for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan but also ensuring a stable future for Pakistan.”
But the U.S.-Pakistan relations improved somewhat last week when Pakistani security forces recovered an American woman, her Canadian husband and kids from the Taliban captivity. President Trump called it a positive moment in U.S.-Pakistan relations, and praised Islamabad’s efforts.
During his one-day visit to Islamabad, Tillerson will meet with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa for discussions on bilateral cooperation and search for peaceful solution of Afghanistan problem.
“The Secretary will meet with senior Pakistani leaders to discuss our continued bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy, and the expanding economic ties between our two countries,” a State Department spokesperson had said last week.
Spokesperson Heather Nauert said Tillerson will discuss joint efforts between Pakistan and the United States to fight terrorist groups that threaten regional peace and stability and how “Pakistan can support our effort to reach a peaceful solution in Afghanistan”.
From Islamabad Tillerson will travel to New Delhi as part of his South Asian visit.
Tillerson began his visit from Oct 20 from Saudi Arabia where he took part in the inaugural Coordination Council meeting between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Secretary Tillerson’s visit to Islamabad follows a trip by Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to Washington earlier this month.
Asif had a series of meetings with top American officials for discussion on the future of US-Pakistan cooperation and the new South Asia strategy announced by President Trump in August this year.
