US official meets Pak Foreign Secretary amid frosty ties

Islamabad [Pakistan]: A senior United States National Security Council official met Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on Tuesday, amid the frosty ties between Islamabad and Washington in recent times.

"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 spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Faisal tweeted on Monday.

According to Geo News, Curtis also called on Pakistan's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal. During the meeting, Iqbal called on the tackling of terrorism in the South Asian region, thereby ensuring the "harmony" in the relationship between Pakistan and the United States.

Both sides called for the developing of sustainable peace in Afghanistan and stressed on measures needed to stop human trafficking in the region.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) legislator Shireen Mazari wrote on Twitter, "Why is Pakistan hosting (Donald) 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 Financial Action Task Force (FATF)! Lisa Curtis as an analyst also has been a severe critic of Pak on all fronts including nuclear!"

Curtis also visited Islamabad in October last year and met with various Pakistani officials. Both sides had agreed to the common objective of eliminating terrorism.

She held meetings with Janjua and Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The meeting comes after the global money-laundering watchdog, FATF, listed Pakistan back on a grey list for terror financing last week.

Also, US President Donald Trump had suspended military aid to Pakistan since it was not doing enough to eliminate terrorism on its soil.