Trump asks Pak PM for help: ministry
Pakistan's foreign ministry said yesterday that US President Donald Trump has written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking Islamabad's support in securing a "negotiated settlement" to the war in Afghanistan.
The development comes as Washington steps up efforts to hold peace talks with the resurgent Taliban, more than 17 years after the invasion of Afghanistan.
In the letter, Trump said a settlement is "his most important regional priority", the Pakistani foreign ministry stated.
"In this regard, he has sought Pakistan's support and facilitation", it continued.
US officials accuse Islamabad of ignoring or even collaborating with groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which attack Afghanistan from safe havens along the border between the two countries.
The White House believes that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and other military bodies have long helped fund and arm the Taliban both for ideological reasons and to counter rising Indian influence in Afghanistan.
It believes that a Pakistani crackdown on the militants could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the war.
Pakistan has long denied the claims and says it has paid the price for its alliance with the US in the so-called "war on terror", with thousands of its citizens killed in its long struggle with militancy.
"Trump acknowledged that the war had cost both USA and Pakistan," the foreign ministry statement continued.
Islamabad would help facilitate any talks "in good faith", the ministry added.
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