Donald Trump to Meet with Pakistan PM Imran Khan, Talks to Focus on Afghanistan

Washington, July 22: US President Donald Trump was set to meet Monday with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan for talks centering on Afghanistan as the US seeks a peace accord with the Taliban to end more than 18 years of war.

In his first visit to the White House since taking power, the former cricket star can expect to hear demands from Trump, who in the past has accused Pakistan of lying and being duplicitous. Pakistan PM Imran Khan to Seek Donald Trump's Help on Kashmir Issue with India.

The goal of the visit, said a senior Trump administration official, is "to press for concrete cooperation from Pakistan to advance the Afghanistan peace process."

The Trump administration also wants to encourage Pakistan to "deepen and sustain its recent effort to crack down on militants and terrorists within its territory," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The United States is pressing for a political agreement with the Taliban before presidential voting in Afghanistan in late September. This would clear the way for most US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan and bring an end to America's longest war.

Washington and Kabul accuse Pakistan of supporting armed extremist groups such as the Haqqani network, which is an ally of the Taliban, by giving it refuge in Pakistani regions along the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies providing such support and argues that, in fact, it has sustained huge losses in terms of lives and money as it fights extremism.

"We are concerned about the links between these groups and Pakistan's intelligence services and military," the administration official said, referring to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Haqqani network.

Days before Khan's visit, Pakistani authorities detained Hafiz Saeed, the founder of LeT and the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in a move hailed by Trump as a result of the pressure applied by his administration.

But Saeed -- declared a global terrorist by the United States and the United Nations -- has for years rotated in and out of detention, and Democratic lawmakers later hit back at the president, tweeting: "Let's hold the (applause) until he's convicted."

- What Pakistan wants -

Islamabad want to shore up relations with Washington after years of discord following the discovery of 9/11 architect Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil, where he was killed in a US raid in 2011.

"One of the big storylines going into the Trump-Khan meeting is the sharp disconnect in expectations," said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at The Wilson Center.

"Pakistan wants to use the meeting as an opportunity to reset and broaden the relationship. The US has a more narrowly defined goal of securing more assistance from Pakistan for the Afghanistan peace process," said Kugelman.

The IMF has just approved a $6 billion loan to help right Pakistan's faltering economy, and keeping the US onside is crucial in maintaining the flow of Western assistance, added Raza Rumi, a Pakistan expert at Ithaca College.

In particular, Pakistan would like US support at the next meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- an anti-money-laundering monitor based in Paris that has threatened to blacklist the country for failing to do enough to combat terror financing, said Rumi.

- Generals in tow -

The interaction between the two leaders -- both celebrities-turned-politicians whose love lives once made regular tabloid fare -- will also be watched closely.

Before taking power, Khan once described the idea of meeting with Trump as a "bitter pill" to swallow.

But the fact that Khan has brought with him his army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, will be welcomed by Washington since Pakistan's military is widely believed to be the ultimate decision maker in matters of foreign policy, said Shuja Nawaz, a South Asia expert at the Atlantic Council.

"I think it gives a little more credibility to whatever message the Pakistanis are bringing," he said.

"In the past, we've always had instances where civilian prime ministers come and make some public statements and then privately they complain about the military to their American hosts, with the hope of getting them on their side."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2019 09:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).