ISLAMABAD: The US State Department said on Wednesday its ties with Pakistan were vital for American defense, though it did not say if Washington was willing to resume stalled security assistance to Islamabad at a time when the two sides are engaged in talks that are focusing on the same issue.
The decision suspend defense cooperation with Pakistan was taken by former US president Donald Trump in 2018 after he said in a harshly worded Twitter post that his country had “foolishly” given more than $33 billion to Islamabad but got nothing from it in Afghanistan except for “lies and deceit.”
His administration officials said the suspension would only remain in effect until Pakistan took “decisive action” against groups targeting US personnel in the war-torn country.
Asked about a possible revival of the security assistance, the department’s spokesperson, Ned Price, refused to say much in definitive terms.
“Pakistan is a valued partner of the United States,” he said. “It’s valued across many realms. Of course, we have a security relationship that is important to us knowing that many of the threats Pakistan faces could well in turn be threats to us. And so we value the work we do together, but I’m just not in a position to offer anything beyond that.”
An inter-agency delegation from Pakistan is currently visiting the US to discuss diplomatic and security cooperation.
This is the second round of the US-Pakistan defense dialogue after a previous session of talks was held in Islamabad in January 2021.
“Issues of bilateral defense and security cooperation will be discussed during the defense dialogue,” the foreign office confirmed in a statement focusing on the “mid-level” talks between the two states.
Apart from the teething issues in Afghanistan which affected the ties between the two states, the bilateral relations were also strained after former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan accused Washington of hatching a “foreign conspiracy” to drive him out of power.
His allegation was vehemently denied by US officials and Khan’s political rivals.
