The US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells said Pakistan needs to do more on Taliban and take decisive action, Pakistan’s Express Tribune reported.
Wells, who is due to hold talks in Pakistan on Monday, said Islamabad needed to do more to squeeze the Taliban and get them to the negotiating table.
“Pakistan has an important role to play… but we have not yet seen that sustained and decisive action on the part of Islamabad,” she said.
“It’s going to be very hard for us to achieve our objectives… if Pakistan isn’t working with us.”
Wells made the remarks during a visit to Kabul on Saturday, two weeks after an unprecedented ceasefire triggered spontaneous street celebrations involving Taliban fighters and security forces, the report said.
“I think it (the ceasefire reaction) creates this impulse for everyone to renew their efforts to find a negotiated political solution,” Wells told reporters in remarks embargoed until Sunday.
“Increasingly I think it’s becoming simply unacceptable for the Taliban not to negotiate.”
The Taliban have so far ignored President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace negotiations. Instead, they have insisted on direct talks with the United States, which Washington has repeatedly refused.
Wells visited Kabul on Saturday and Sunday and met with Afghan officials and international partners.
In a press release issued by the US Embassy in Kabul, Wells underscored continued US support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process and the need for an honorable and dignified path to ending the conflict.
Her discussions also focused on the importance of holding timely, credible, and transparent parliamentary and presidential elections and ensuring Afghan citizens can safely cast their votes, the statement read.
During her visit, Wells met with President Ashraf Ghani, CEO Abdullah Abdullah, acting foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani, National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar, High Peace Council Chairman Karim Khalili, members of the Independent Election Commission, and other Afghan leaders.
Wells also met with international partners to discuss ongoing US and international community support for efforts to promote long-term peace, security, and stability in Afghanistan and the region.
One of the Taliban’s key demands for engaging in talks is the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
The Express Tribune also reported that Wells said since the Afghan government and United States were willing to start talking without preconditions, the onus was now on the Taliban to respond.
“Right now, it’s the Taliban leaders… who aren’t residing in Afghanistan, who are the obstacle to a negotiated political settlement,” Wells said.
The White House has been ratcheting up pressure on Islamabad to crack down on extremist groups operating in the country after suspending military aid to Pakistan in January because of its inaction on the issue.
US urges Pakistan not to be a ‘safe haven’ for terrorists
Pakistan has long been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban and providing safe haven to its leaders, charges Islamabad denies.
Pakistan, in return, has accused Afghanistan of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban.
Afghan security forces resumed offensive missions on Saturday after Ghani declared an end to an 18-day ceasefire that had been extended once.
The government’s unilateral truce overlapped with the Taliban’s three-day ceasefire for Eid, but the militants refused to prolong it.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Dunya News reported that Wells is scheduled to reach Islamabad Monday.
The report said that Wells will meet with top civil and military leadership during her visit to Pakistan.
Sources further said that Wells’ arrival in Pakistan soon after a visit to Kabul is of great significance, Dunya News reported.