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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Pakistan Wednesday afternoon, telling journalists he hoped for "turn the page" and "reset the relationship" with the new government.
Ties between the longtime security has been marked by deepening tensions and sharp disagreements over Pakistan's alleged harboring of anti-Afghan militants.
The Secretary of State also told reporters that Zalmay Khalilzad, to form U.S. Ambassador, would be joining the Trump administration as a special envoy to Afghanistan, with a focus on pursuing reconciliation and peace talks with the Taliban. It was the first official confirmation of widespread reports that Khalilzad would be named to the position, which has been vacant since Trump took office.
The atmosphere that greeted Pompeo and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as they prepared to meet with the Prime Minister Imran Khan, was one of the wars, indignation and defiance.
Ties have been further hit by the Trump administration's decision to cut another $ 300 million in U.S. military aid just days before the visit.
For the past week, Pakistani officials and commentators have been denouncing the United States as a bully seeking to force its way to fight against Islamist terrorism. Khan and his aides have insisted that the bilateral relationship must be based on mutual respect, and that Pakistan's national interests must come first.
"The antagonism witnessed now is unprecedented," Zahid Hussain, columnist for Dawn newspaper, wrote Wednesday. "Washington's demand for unquestionable compliance is unacceptable to Pakistan." Although noting that the two "frenemies" can not afford to break up, he added, US efforts to "punish" Pakistan with help cuts and belittle it with "humiliating tweets" will only backfire .
[[Pakistan blames the U.S. for its return to a terrorist financing watch list]
Pompeo and Dunford held closed-door meetings with Pakistani officials, during a brief stopover en route to India.
While they were in talks, the government spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted that the new foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had told the visitors that the government seeks to improve bilateral ties, but [the] supreme priority. "Pakistan's chief national interests include protecting its nuclear arsenal and guarding against aggression by India, its next-door rival.
Pompeo, while expressing hopes for "finding common ground" with the new government in Islamabad, was also cautious in his pre-arrival comments, telling reporters the visit was an opportunity to "walk through the complexity" of the relationship and "hopefully begin to make some progress so that we can get back to a set of common understandings. "
He played a role in rapprochement, saying the Pakistani government had been told it would happen in advance and knew why. "This was not news to the Pakistanis," he said. "The rationale for not getting money is very clear. It's that we have not seen the progress that we need to see from them. "
Pompeo was referring to the continued U.S. insistence that Pakistan is sheltering Islamist militants who cross the border to attack Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly denied the charge, but Afghan officials accused Pakistan just after the border to attack the city of Ghazni, which was besieged by Taliban forces for four days.
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