US State Department has said that it is time to build upon the successful meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump.
“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,” Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters at a press briefing.
State Department says working closely with Pakistan on safe recovery of American hostages
“I will 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,” she said when asked how the State Department sees the Pak-US ties progressing after Imran Khan’s US trip. “And there were 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,” she said. “Thousands of American lives and lives of our NATO allies and our European allies that have been lost fighting in Afghanistan for the people of Afghanistan to have a right to choose their own future,” she added.
When asked about Imran Khan’s statement that there will be good news on US hostages soon, the spokesperson said the Trump administration has a ‘very strong record, actually, on getting American hostages returned’. “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,” she said. “The prime minister [Imran Khan] did say that. We are, of course, working closely with Pakistan on recovering them. We think his statements were helpful and we’re of course hopeful that there will be some action after those statements,” she added.
The US, she said, is committed to the fight against terrorism. “When it comes to fighting terrorism, you have a secretary of state who has been committed to this his entire career and that is something that he is always going to raise with allies and friends and whomever comes to the table,” she added.
