On Taleban, the Pakistani premier pointed out contradicting in U.S. position of sponsoring Afghan-Taleban dialogue and at the same thing me urging Pakistan to crush them. “But any effort to bracket India with Pakistan on the nuclear issue would be baffling”, said a government official.
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Sharif has been in the United States of America holding wide-ranging talks with US President Barack Obama. “But I think we had a significant shift with Pakistan after the tragic attack against the school in Peshawar in December 2014 in which 140 people were killed”.
“These discussions have continued and had counter terrorism co-operation with Pakistan over the years”.
The talk of nukes is one of the reasons the Usa and Pakistan’s relationship has faltered recently.
The leaders later “called on Taliban leaders to enter into direct talks with Kabul and work toward a sustainable peace settlement”, according to a joint statement.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan has not received adequate response from India on its peace initiative”, he said, adding that Obama during the meeting agreed that Kashmir issue needs to be resolved.
The leaders emerged from a 90-minute Oval Office meeting announcing no timeline for stalled peace talks, nor any major breakthroughs on other items that topped the agenda, including concerns over the growth of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
That article upset the Pakistanis leading Moeed Yusuf, a South Asia analyst at the United States Institute of Peace, to declare the relationship, “a mess”.
President Obama raised his concern regarding the United States nationals being held hostage by terrorist groups in the region. He also shared dossiers with allegations of an Indian hand in terrorism in Pakistan, seeking to involve the U.S. as a referee.
In a statement, the group had said Pakistan’s war crimes and crimes against humanity continue unabated in Balochistan. The president is of the opinion that such a move could increase risks and instability in South Asia.
The US State Department approved the request of Pakistan in early April, in which it they demanded a billion dollars worth of military hardware and equipment, looking at Pakistan as a very important country for USA foreign policy and national interests.
Obama was also briefed about the progress Pakistan has been making on the economic front, with positive indicators, duly acknowledged by global rating agencies.
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The leaders noted Pakistan’s efforts to improve its strategic trade controls and enhance its engagement with multilateral export control regimes.
