Border security and terrorism dominate US-Pakistan talks | The Express Grandstand

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan and the United States launched anti-terror talks on Monday as Islamabad battled a new wave of terror and Washington’s support was seen as crucial in dealing with the renewed threat.

Syed Haider Shah, the Additional Secretary (UN&ED), led the Pakistani delegation, while the US delegation was led by Acting Counterterrorism Coordinator Christopher Landberg.

According to the sources, Foreign Secretary Asad Majid also attended the first day of lengthy talks at the Foreign Ministry.

“The dialogue is aimed at discussing the common threat of terrorism, cooperation in multilateral forums and countering the financing of terrorism,” a foreign ministry statement said ahead of the talks.

Read more: Anti-terrorism dialogue between Pakistan and the US will start from Monday

A State Department announcement last week said that participants in the Islamabad meeting would “develop policy-oriented strategies regarding cooperation in critical areas such as border security and combating the financing of terrorism.”

The two-day dialogue between the two countries is the first in recent years, suggesting that the United States wishes to maintain security cooperation with Pakistan despite its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Pakistan faces a renewed threat of terrorism since the return of the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021. This was contrary to the expectations of Pakistan, which thought that a friendly government in the neighboring country would address its security concerns.

Instead, the return of the Afghan Taliban in Kabul has emboldened the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

However, the dialogue between Pakistan and the United States on the fight against terrorism has renewed hope that Washington will not completely abandon Pakistan. Some observers believe that the US administration is going ahead with the dialogue despite Washington’s view that the TTP is no longer a threat to the United States.