PM Khan says hopeful relationship with US at “different level” after visit

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, walks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., to speak to the media at Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. (AP)

• Addresses members of US Congress before leaving for Pakistan after a three-day Washington trip
• Says bringing Taliban to the table for talks with Kabul government won’t be easy task

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday he hoped the relationship with the United States had been reset to a “different level” after his visit to Washington that was meant to mend fractured ties and seek ways to work with the US to help end an 18-year-long civil war in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani premier was addressing members of the US Congress at Capitol Hill shortly before he left for Pakistan after a three-day visit to Washington.
“We hope from now our relationship will be completely different. And rest assured, I will make sure that our relationship is now based on truth, on trust,” the premier said. “I hope that we again get back to the relationship [we had] that was based on closeness, on trust, on mutual respect.”
Khan said he would do his best to persuade the Afghan Taliban to come to the table for peace talks with the Kabul government but warned the United States that it would not be an “easy” task.
The United States and the Taliban are getting closer to a deal that is expected to be centered on a US pledge to withdraw troops in exchange for a Taliban promise not to let Afghanistan be used as a base for terrorism. However, the Taliban have refused to negotiate with the government, denouncing it as a US puppet regime.
“Pakistan is now trying its best to get the Taliban on the table to start this dialogue and so far we have done pretty well,” Khan said. “But it’s not going to be easy. Do not expect this to be easy, because it’s a very complicated situation in Afghanistan.”
“But rest assured we will be trying our best, the whole country is standing behind me,” he said. “The Pakistan Army, the security forces, all are behind me. We all have one objective, and it is exactly the same objective as the US: to have a peaceful solution as quickly as possible in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan’s role in the peace negotiations is a delicate one.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of supporting the Taliban, a charge Pakistan denies, saying it has suffered heavily from the fighting. The United States has also pressed Islamabad to do more to curb militant groups based in its territory.
Khan said he hoped that ties with the US were at a different level” after his visit, because mistrust between the two countries had been a source of “pain” for Pakistan.