ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf took a positive view of his country's bilateral relations with the United States on Friday, saying the two sides were focusing "on outcomes, not optics."
Yusuf began his visit to the US last month to hold a meeting with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan to discuss a broad spectrum of issues.
The two national security advisors had previously met in Geneva to take stock of the Pak-US bilateral relations at a time when American troops were beginning to exit from Afghanistan and the insurgent violence in the war-battered state was escalating again.
"Concluded a constructive visit to US," Yusuf said in his Twitter post.
He added his trip to Washington gave him the opportunity to engage with US officials, policymakers, media and the Pakistani diaspora community.
"The Pak-US relationship is moving in the right direction, " he noted. "The focus of both sides is on outcomes, not optics."
His statement contrasted with his interview to an international publication earlier this week wherein he said that his country was trying to "understand the signal" being sent by US President Joe Biden who had yet to call Prime Minister Imran Khan since assuming the top executive office in Washington.
"The president of the United States hasn't spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?" he told the Financial Times.
"We've been told every time that . . . [the phone call] will happen, it's technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don't believe it," he continued. "If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options."
The Pakistani national security advisor also told the media in Washington his country would not accept any "forceful takeover" in Afghanistan.
"We have made it absolutely clear that we are with the international community on where this goes," he maintained. "But the world also needs to be clear that the US invests in a political settlement [in Afghanistan]."
Yusuf maintained there was a "deliberate effort by the Afghan government to scapegoat Pakistan," adding that the political rhetoric in Kabul was making it difficult to maintain good relations between the two neighboring states and manage the emerging situation in the region.
He agreed that violence had to stop in Afghanistan while urging the administration in Kabul to make some "compromise given the ground reality."
