PM’s stance on terrorism strong basis for India talks: US – Newspaper

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Imran Khan's commitment to prevent cross-border terrorism, if implemented, would provide a solid basis for the dialogue between India and Pakistan, says a senior US official.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon in New York, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Alice G. Wells, enunciated the offers of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to mediate, saying that it comes from his desire to reduce the tensions between the two nuclear neighbors of South Asia.

"Prime Minister Khan has made important public commitments regarding the need to prevent cross-border terrorism and the sanctuary for terrorist organizations, which, if fully implemented, would provide a solid basis for dialogue," said Ms. Wells in Your opening statement.

In an apparent reference to reports that some protesters in AJK wanted to go to the Control Line (LoC) to show their rejection of India's decision on August 5 to annex occupied Kashmir, Ms. Wells said: "We called to all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control. "

During the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly this week, US officials were heard. UU. And others expressing concern about this report and some even pointed out that any attempt to cross the LoC in today's tense situation could have dangerous consequences.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Wells noted that President Trump "had made clear his concern about tensions between Indo-Pak and his willingness to facilitate a dialogue if requested."

Official says Washington will help Islamabad avoid being included in the FATF blacklist

Later, in answering a question about a possible role of the United States in reducing tensions in South Asia, he noted that President Trump "speaks openly about his concerns about the level of tension between the two countries, particularly between two nuclear powers. "

The president of the United States, he added, was also open about "his desire to reduce these tensions; his willingness to play any positive role he can, including mediation if asked to do so."

Trump first expressed his desire to mediate during a White House meeting with Prime Minister Khan in July and has since repeatedly raised this issue in his comments and in a meeting with Khan and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Even India's continued rejection of these offers has discouraged him by mentioning his offers in his press reports during UNGA as well.

Ms. Wells said the United States has already expressed its "continuing concern over widespread detentions, including local political and business leaders, and restrictions on residents of Jammu and Kashmir."

Recalling the Indian government to remove those restrictions, he said: "We hope that the Indian government will resume the political commitment to local leaders and schedule the promised elections as soon as possible."

Trade with us

Wells said that in his meeting with Khan on Monday, President Trump relied on the talks he began during the prime minister's visit to the White House in July, including how to expand trade.

"We are going to host 15 separate Pakistani trade delegations over the next year to support trade and investment in energy, health, agriculture and franchises."

Ms. Well said that President Trump has also appreciated Pakistan's efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, and that the United States wanted to help Pakistan meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to avoid being included in its blacklist, which could disrupt the country's economy. .

"We look forward to the next FATF plenary meeting in October, where it is important, and more important than ever, for Pakistan to take sustained and irreversible actions to achieve its policy objectives against money laundering and counter terrorism financing to fully meet its international commitments, "he said.

Wells said earlier this week, he spoke at the relaunch of the US Women's Council. UU. And Pakistan, a public-private partnership that will harness the power of the US private sector. UU. To create opportunities for Pakistani women and girls.

"The event underlined for me the potential that our relationship is really a force for good, but I think that Pakistan's actions in the coming weeks will be critical in determining the trajectory of our overall relationship," he said.

When asked if the United States was doing enough to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan, he said that Washington "was always actively promoting regional stability, and certainly one of the first strategies presented by this administration was the South Asian strategy ".

This was a strategy not only to stabilize Afghanistan, since peace in Afghanistan "requires the full support of countries and regional powers."

He noted that President Trump has been deeply engaged with his counterparts in India and Pakistan in meetings and telephone conversations.

"I think it is clear that the president has a very good relationship with both leaders, and the conversations we have about some of the challenging problems that have been at the heart of the conflict for many decades: we engage in these issues intensively," said. said.

Ms. Wells said that while the disagreement continued between India and Pakistan, "our ability to relate to leaders and our willingness to relate to leaders and their receptivity to our commitment is positive."

The US official said that the Indian and Pakistani leaders had publicly framed their disagreements with each other during the UNGA.

"What we need to focus on is how we can gain confidence that non-terrorist or non-state actors no longer have shelter and can operate in the region, we can gain confidence that both parties are committed to constructive dialogue." she said.

“And when trust arises, I think the dialogue will continue (India, Pakistan). We will do our best to help promote greater trust among countries, but practical measures must be taken. "

Posted on Dawn, September 29, 2019