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The development came weeks after Trump said Pakistan does not do “a damn thing” for the US, alleging that Islamabad had helped al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden hide near its garrison city of Abbottabad.
The Foreign Office (FO) said that the President, in a letter, has sought Pakistan’s cooperation in bringing the Taliban to negotiating table. In the letter, Trump “stated that his most important regional priority was achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war. In this regard, he has sought Pakistan’s support and facilitation,” the Foreign Office said.
The President also acknowledged that the war had cost both the US and Pakistan, and emphasised that both the countries “should explore opportunities to work together and renew partnership”. Pakistan welcomes the decision to explore ways for a political settlement of the Afghan issue, the FO said. “Since Pakistan has always advocated a political settlement to end the war in Afghanistan, US decision is welcomed,” it said.
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Ties between the US and Pakistan strained after Trump, while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in August last year, hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to “agents of chaos” that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has “much to lose” by harbouring terrorists.
In September, the Trump administration cancelled USD 300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban active on its soil.
The Trump administration, in the recent months, has intensified its efforts to seek a negotiated settlement of America’s longest war in Afghanistan where the US has lost over 2,400 soldiers since late 2001, when it invaded the country after the 9/11 terror attacks.