Senior US diplomat arrives in Islamabad, meets foreign secretary

ISLAMABAD: US Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for South and Central Asia Lisa Curtis on Monday held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua during an emergency visit to the country. 

Pak-US relations, which have witnessed a downward trend after US President Donald Trump's new year tweet, were discussed during the huddle.

The meeting was held at the Foreign Office. 

The situation in Afghanistan and bilateral relations also came under discussion during the meeting. 

Trump's tweet was followed by the US withholding $255 million in aid to Islamabad, accusing Pakistan of failing to cooperate fully in the fight against terrorism.

"The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had told reporters.

"They work with us at times, and they also harbour the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan," she said.

"That game is not acceptable to this administration. We expect far more cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against terrorism," she added.

"The president is willing to go to great lengths to stop all funding from Pakistan as they continue to harbour terrorists."

Shortly afterward, the White House said it wanted to see Pakistan "do more to fight terrorism" and that it would likely announce further actions to pressure Islamabad.