US Pompeo, Dunford Arrive in Pakistan to Meet Senior Officials
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo along with the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday to meet with Pakistani authorities.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo along with the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday to meet with Pakistani authorities.
The visit comes days after the Trump administration cancelled $ 300 million in military aid to Pakistan as it was not doing enough against terrorist groups inside its borders.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended the Trump administration’s decision to cut $ 300 million aid to Pakistan, saying Islamabad did not make satisfactory progress in combatting terrorism.
Pompeo’s talks is the first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.
Talking to reporters travelling with him hours before landing in Pakistan, the Secretary of State said: “The rationale for them (Pakistan) not getting the money is very clear. It’s that we haven’t seen the progress that we need to see from them.”
“The very reason for this trip is to try and articulate what it is our expectation is, the things that they can do, the things that they expect us to do, and see if we can’t find a path forward together,” Pompeo added.
In response to a question, Pompeo said that US aid to Pakistan could be restored, but he has not seen the progress yet.
“We certainly haven’t seen the progress that we would hope to have seen, certainly not progress that would be sufficient for us to have advocated for turning back on that financial support,” said the top American diplomat.
Relations between Washington and Islamabad became tense after US officials accused Pakistan of not making enough efforts to destroy terror safe havens in its territory.
