John Kerry telephones Nawaz Sharif, discusses regional situation

The two discussed bilateral ties and deliberated on the regional situation

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State John Kerry called Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday evening, Radio Pakistan reported.

According to initial details, Kerry and Nawaz discussed relations between the United States and Pakistan and discussed the regional situation.

The call comes as ties between Pakistan and India deteriorated ahead of bilateral talks scheduled to be held early next week.

Sources privy to the development said that Kerry and Nawaz discussed the upcoming talks.

They added said that the US iterated the stakes it has in the talks. Further, Kerry said that the US wanted to see resumption of talks between the two nuclear tipped neighbours and solution to all disputed issues.

Earlier on Monday, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby had during the daily press briefing in Washington strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada which killed 20 people, including the minister. He added that the United States remains committed to the people of Pakistan and the government in fighting terrorism.

Asked about recent violence in Afghanistan and future of the peace talks, Kirby said that the US was concerned about the recent spike in violence, but largely dismissed it as the summer surge in Taliban activity. However, he added that Afghan National Security Forces were doing good job at responding to the violence. He reiterated that the US supported President Ghani, and that is why they had nearly 10,000 American troops stationed there.

Pointing towards the peace process, Kirby said that the US had long maintained that the long-term answer to the situation was the reconciliation process that would be Afghan-led. He also acknowledged that for Pakistan and Afghanistan this was a common cause, common challenge since the two countries were facing a common enemy.

Kirby said that there would continue to be tensions across the border, shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan, because it was a safe haven for extremists.

“Pakistan has suffered deeply from Taliban attacks inside their country, and their soldiers have bled just like Afghan soldiers have bled. That’s why we continue to think it’s important for the two sides to look for ways to cooperate and to communicate and to work towards a better solution here, which, again, we believe is through the reconciliation process,” he said.

Earlier on June 16, US Secretary of State John Kerry had appreciated the prime ministers’ counter-terrorism policy and his strong resolve and determination to defeat terrorism.

Read: Kerry calls Nawaz, appreciates Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy

Senator Kerry had telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif evening and conveyed him best wishes and regards from the US Administration.

While exchanging the views on regional situation, Senator Kerry lauded prime minister’s commitment towards establishing a peaceful neighbourhood in South Asia.