The US is not taking at face value Pakistan’s actions against militant outfits, including the arrest of Hafiz Saeed, and will ensure that these steps are made “irreversible and sustainable” and not just “window dressing”, the White House has said ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first meeting with President Donald Trump.
A senior Trump administration official explained that byextending the invitation to Prime Minister Khan to visit the White House, theUS wants to send a message to Pakistan that the “door is open to repairingrelations” and building an enduring partnership if Islamabad “changesits policies” with regard to militants.
Khan, the 66-year-old cricketer-turned politician, isscheduled to meet Trump at his Oval Office on Monday, the first by a Pakistanileader in nearly four years, the last one being that of Nawaz Sharif in October2015.
The Trump administration is preparing to give him a warmwelcome which includes a traditional welcome at the White House, one-on-one meetingat the Oval Office and a working luncheon in the presence of several of thepresident’s Cabinet colleagues and leaders from the Pentagon.
The senior administration official ruled out liftingsuspension of security aid to Pakistan unless it sees sustained, decisive andirreversible action against militant groups.
“As you know, we suspended security assistance toPakistan in January 2018. And as of now, there’s no change to thatpolicy,” the official said in response to a question.
“By and large that security assistance is stillsuspended. We will consider changing that suspension on certain items ifPakistan meets our security concerns both in Afghanistan, and with regard tosome of the externally focus groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.But as of now, there was no change to that suspension and securitysystems,” the official, requesting anonymity, said.
“We’ve seen this happen in the past. And we have beenlooking for sustained and concrete steps, not just window dressing,” theofficial said when asked about the arrest of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief HafizSaeed.”Let me reassure you, we are clear eyedabout the history here. We’re under no illusions about the support that wecould see from Pakistan’s military intelligence services to these groups. So wewill look for concrete action,” the official said when asked about theactions that Pakistan has taken against group and if the US believes in them.