ISLAMABAD – The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells reached Pakistan on Monday.
The US official had a meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, in which bilateral relations between Islamabad and Washington were discussed in the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s South Asia policy.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, matters related to regional security situation were also discussed by the officials.
This is Well’s third visit to Pakistan since August 2017, when POTUS announced his policy for Afghanistan, accusing Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump in his New Year tweet accused Pakistan of lies and deceit in response to the aid provided to it.
“They give safe havens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” he said on January 1.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/no-more-us-was-foolish-to-give-aid-to-pakistan-says-trump/
The ‘most liked’ tweet led to heightened tensions between Pakistan and the US following which the US announced that it was suspending the transfer of military equipment and security-related funds to Pakistan.
Moreover, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) informed on January 12 that Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa received two phone calls from US Centcom Commander General Joseph Votel and one from a US senator over the week to discuss Pak-US security cooperation following the tweet.
The army chief told US officials that Pakistan will continue its “sincere counter-terrorism efforts” even without US financial support in accordance with its own national interest, stated military’s media wing.
