WASHINGTON - Calling Pakistan an important player in the Afghan puzzle, the White House has said that its role in facilitating reconciliation process between Taliban and Afghanistan will be discussed between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in their meet next week.
“We already know that Pakistan has played an important role in trying to facilitate reconciliation talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government,” White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday.
In fact, one of the early rounds of those talks actually took place in Pakistan, were hosted by the Pakistani government, he said.
“I don’t want to be in a position of speaking for the Pakistani government, but it’s the President’s view that everybody in that region recognises the important benefits associated with progress on reconciliation talks,” he said in response to a question.
The president is going to continue to use the influence that he has with the Afghan government to encourage them to pursue those talks.
“I think that is, frankly, something that the Afghan government doesn’t need a lot of encouragement to pursue. That’s something that they themselves are interested in,” he said.
At a separate briefing Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Pakistan is an important player in the Afghan puzzle.
“Everyone involved in this effort with Resolute Support working with the Afghan government is trying to take a comprehensive look at this picture and trying to involve Pakistan in that conversation has been important. And the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is important going forward,” he said.
The United States will discuss concerns about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal during a visit to Washington next week by Nawaz Sharif, the White House said on Thursday.
The News York Times reported on Thursday that the Obama administration was concerned that Pakistan might be on the verge of deploying a small tactical nuclear weapon that would be harder to protect from falling into hands of militants.
The paper said the administration was also seeking to prevent Pakistan deploying missiles that could reach beyond its main foe India, and was thus exploring a possible deal to limit the Pakistani arsenal that could involve relaxing restrictions on access to nuclear technology.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest played down the prospect of an agreement when asked if there was a serious effort to reach a deal with Pakistan on nuclear technology in the run-up to Sharif visit, which is expected to start on Tuesday.
“I would not be overly excited about the prospects of reaching the kind of agreement that is being speculated about publicly,” he told a regular news briefing, adding that it was “not likely to come to fruition next week.
Meanwhile, the US Department of State said that Richard Olson, who is presently serving as US Ambassador to Pakistan, will become the American Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) from next month. (Agencies)