Pakistan's Foreigh Minister Bilawal Bhutto.
Highlights
- Pakistan and the US have completed their security level talks in Washington
- Talks are believed to have focused on bilateral security concerns and the situation in Afghanistan
- The Pakistani delegation had also included former ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed
Pakistan and the US have completed their security level talks in Washington, days before a meeting between their foreign policy chiefs is scheduled to be held in New York, according to a media report on Thursday. Inter-Services Intelligence Director-General (DG ISI) Lt-Gen Nadeem Anjum spent three days in Washington this week, meeting senior security officials, including US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J Burns.
Neither side disclosed the details of these meetings, but the talks are believed to have focused on bilateral security concerns and the situation in Afghanistan, as the US believes that Pakistan can help stabilise the neighbouring war-torn country, the Dawn newspaper reported. The last security level talks between the two countries were held in July 2021, when then-National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf met Sullivan at the White House. The Pakistani delegation had also included former ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed.
Later, Sullivan said in a tweet that their talks focused on regional connectivity and security, and 'the urgent need for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan.' The current ISI chief’s visit followed an unprecedented deterioration in Pakistan-US ties, triggered by former prime minister Imran Khan’s claim that Washington conspired with opposition leaders to topple his government, the report said.
At a news briefing on Tuesday, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price rejected Khan’s claims as speculation and lies, adding that America will not let “lies get in the way” of its bilateral ties with Pakistan, a relationship, he stressed, the US values. “We are not going to let propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation — lies — get in the way of any bilateral relationship we have, including with the bilateral relationship we have with Pakistan, one we value,” he said while responding to a question about Khan’s claims.
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