U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was “hopeful” on Wednesday of resetting the troubled relationship with Pakistan, a key player in the Afghan conflict, after cordial meetings in Islamabad including with new Premier Imran Khan.
The shift in tone comes days after Washington confirmed plans to cancel $300 million in military aid, and was echoed by Mr. Khan, who voiced his optimism at a fresh start.
Afghan conflict
Mr. Pompeo told pool reporters shortly before leaving Islamabad that the “broad spectrum” of topics discussed included efforts “to develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan”.
“I’m hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the conditions for continued success,” he said — though he added there was a “long way to go” before Washington would resume military assistance.
The cancelled military aid is part of a broader freeze announced by the Trump administration in January designed to pressure Pakistan into action.
But Mr. Pompeo said ahead of the trip that it was time to “turn the page”.
In his earlier comments, Mr. Pompeo also held out the possibility that military aid could be restored under the right circumstances.
“We were providing these resources when it made sense for the United States because the partnership was in a place where the actions of our two countries made sense to do that,” Mr. Pompeo said. “If that arises again, I’m confident we’ll present to the President the rationale for that.”
He also said that cancellation of aid was not news for Pakistan. “Look, this wasn’t news to the Pakistanis. It made a lot of headlines over the last few days because of the formality... but they were told this past summer that they weren’t likely to get that money,” he said.