World must maintain contacts with new Afghan govt, Pakistan tells US

ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf told the United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman during a meeting in Islamabad that the international community must engage with the new Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.

Sherman, after CIA chief Bill Burns, is one of the first high-level officials under President Joe Biden to visit Pakistan.
During the Islamabad meeting, the two sides discussed the evolving situation in the region after the Taliban takeover.

Both Pakistan and the US expressed the desire to promote their bilateral relations. Yusuf and Sherman also exchanged views on economic cooperation and trade in the war-torn country.

The US lauded Pakistan’s efforts for the evacuation of foreigners from Afghanistan and the help it has extended to the Afghan refugees.

Yusuf also reiterated Pakistan’s stance that “the world must maintain contact with the interim government in Afghanistan.”

He apprised Sherman about Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and said, “Indian blatant human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) also pose threat to regional peace.”

Earlier, the Foreign Office (FO) also emphasised the need for regular engagement between Pakistan and the US in a statement.

According to the US State Department, Sherman, who reached Pakistan yesterday (October 7) before visiting India, will meet more senior officials in Islamabad today.

During her stay in India, Sherman held talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.