PM Abbasi to visit US next month, address UN General Assembly session

Abbasi will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will visit the US next month and address the annual UN General Assembly session there.

The PM is expected to leave for the US in September accompanied by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Express News reported.

Besides top US officials, the premier will also meet world leader who will be there for the UN General Assembly session.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Saturday, Abbasi had said US President Donald Trump’s strategy for Afghanistan would meet the same fate as the plans of his predecessors. Failure.



“From day one we have been saying very clearly the military strategy in Afghanistan has not worked and it will not work,” he added. "There has to be a ‘political settlement’ . That’s the bottom-line.”

The PM said while his government supports the fight against terrorists it would not let the war in Afghanistan spill into Pakistan.

“We do not intend to allow anybody to fight Afghanistan’s battle on Pakistan’s soil,” he maintained.

“Whatever has to happen in Afghanistan should be happening in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that Pakistan did not harbour terrorists.

Abbasi said Pakistan was willing to work with all countries including India, from which Trump sought help to develop Afghanistan’s economy, to achieve regional stability. Still, he added the Afghan government should be “owning” the issue and dealing with the Taliban.

“If they require our support, our support is available,” he said. “Our support is unconditional as far as terrorism is concerned.”