Tehmina Janjua in US to hold dialogue with civil, military leadership

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua is on a crucial visit to the United States as part of an attempt by both the countries to work together.

“I think we’re in the beginning of a process with the Pakistani Government. We have a series of high-level exchanges, Foreign Secretary Janjua will be here in Washington for meetings tomorrow,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells said during her briefing on Monday.

Delving into details regarding the meetings, Well said, “There will be a very intensive dialogue through both our military and our civilian channels to discuss how we can work together.”

“We’re certainly not walking away from Pakistan,” she added.

Responding to a question whether Washington has seen a change in Pakistan’s behaviour as it relates to Afghanistan since the move of the US to freeze aid, Wells said, “We’ve not seen decisive and sustained changes yet in Pakistan’s behavior.”

“But certainly we are continuing to engage with Pakistan over areas where we think they can play a helpful role in changing the calculus of the Taliban,” the principal deputy assistant secretary of state said.

Janjua’s trip comes shorty after US Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for South and Central Asia Lisa Curtis made an emergency visit to Islamabad. During her trip, Curtis held a meeting with Janjua at the Foreign Office.

Pak-US relations, which have witnessed a downward trend after US President Donald Trump's new year tweet, were discussed during the huddle. The situation in Afghanistan and bilateral relations also came under discussion during the meeting.

On Monday, the Pentagon asserted that Islamabad has the “opportunity to do more.” “Well, with respect to Pakistan we believe that Pakistan can do more to combat terrorism,” Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W White said at a weekend news briefing in Washington.