News Desk |
The United States has said that it is time to build upon progress on the success of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first meeting with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In her weekly press conference, US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus has said that the visit helped President Trump and Secretary Pompeo build a personal connection and rapport with the Pakistani premier.
“This meeting, of course, gave the chance for the president and the secretary to meet with Prime Minister [Imran] Khan, to build a personal connection and rapport. And now we think it’s time to make progress on the success of this first meeting,” she explained.
PM Khan said that Pakistan was able to present itself on equal terms with Washington, adding he was also positive that the US president would also soon visit Pakistan.
When asked how the State Department sees the Pak-US and Pak-India ties progressing after Imran’s US trip, the spokesperson said, “I would note one of the things that the prime minister says that he vowed to urge the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government. We are committed to peace in Afghanistan. We think that was an important step.”
“And there was a number of issues that were discussed not only in the president’s meeting but with the secretary’s meeting as well, and now is the time to build upon that meeting and to build upon those commitments,” Ortagus said.
When asked about Imran’s statement that there would be good news on US hostages soon, Ortagus said the Trump administration had a “very strong record, actually, on getting American hostages returned”.
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“We take human lives incredibly seriously, and we will use every means available at our disposal to secure and to see the secure and safe return of American citizens who are held hostage abroad. The prime minister [Imran Khan] did say that. We are, of course, working closely with the Pakistanis on recovering them. We think his statements were helpful and we’re of course hopeful that there will be some action proceeding those statements.”
Successful Visit of PM Khan and COAS
President Trump hosted PM Khan, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and the head of the ISI intelligence service among others during the recent US visit.
Upon his return on July 25, Khan said that he felt like he came back after winning the cricket World Cup. The premier’s visit has been seen as a major diplomatic success.
Read more: Army Chief in Washington: Bilateral Military Cooperation on Afghan Peace Process & Regional Security
PM Khan said that Pakistan was able to present itself on equal terms with Washington, adding he was also positive that the US president would also soon visit Pakistan.