By Muhammad Luqman
Lisa Curtis, the Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council of the United States, has reportedly held secret talks with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in the capital Islamabad to fix the strains in the relations of the two countries. “FS (Ms Tehmina Janjua) meets Ms Lisa Curtis, the Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the NSC of US, at Mofa (ministry of foreign affairs) this morning,” Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted on Monday. However, no further details of the meeting were provided in the tweet. According to official news agency APP, Ms Curtis later called on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal but what was conveyed by the US official during the meeting was not made public either. The FO spokesman had previously said at the weekly briefing that “Pakistan and the US are trying to find common ground in their bilateral relations, which is happening outside public glare”. The secret dialogue between the two countries had commenced soon after the US suspended military assistance following President Donald Trump’s New Year tweet that accused Pakistan of lies and deceit. The dialogue that began between Pentagon and GHQ is believed to be continuing at the same level and between the same principals — Centcom Commander Gen Joseph Votel and Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa. Lately, military’s top brass had at the corps commanders’ conference in the Afghan capital Kabul signalled its desire for cooperation with the US. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf legislator Shireen Mazari reacting to Ms Curtis’s visit said: “Why is Pakistan hosting Trump’s South Asia point person Lisa Curtis on sudden notice? She should have been made to cool her heels for a while after the premature targeting of Pak in FATF! Lisa Curtis as an analyst also has been a severe critic of Pak on all fronts including nuclear!” According to a statement issued after the meeting between Ms Curtis and Mr Iqbal, various matters of mutual relationships came under discussion. Ms Curtis during the meeting was accompanied by US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale, according to APP. During the meeting, Mr Iqbal said that harmony in Pak-US relationship was vital for defeating terrorism in the region. He said backbone of terrorism had been broken in Pakistan while the country wanted to help develop sustainable peace in Afghanistan. He said ‘Pak-US knowledge corridor’ would help increase educational capacity of students. The minister informed the US delegation about measures taken to stop human trafficking. Ms Curtis also visited Islamabad on Oct 12 last and during her meetings with Pakistani interlocutors then, the two sides had agreed to continue bilateral engagement at all levels and reinvigorate relationship to achieve the common objective of defeating terrorism. Ms Curtis had then held talks with Ms Janjua and Gen Bajwa, English newspaper, Daily Dawn reported.
