Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells said that the US appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan to advance the Afghan peace process.
“Pakistan has important leverage to promote lasting security and stability in Afghanistan,” the US diplomat said in a media briefing at the US Department of State on her recent trip to Pakistan.
Wells said that she held several meetings in Pakistan with government, military, civil society, and business leaders. "At the top of the agenda was understanding how we can grow our bilateral relationship commensurate with the cooperation that we are achieving in promoting peace in Afghanistan and regional stability," she added.
"We strongly encourage Pakistan to work with FATF and the international community to fully satisfy its action plan commitments. Completion of the FATF action plan is critical to Pakistan’s economic reform efforts, including its IMF programme," she said.
Wells maintained that Prime Minister Khan’s economic reform efforts contributed to the World Bank identifying it as one of the top 10 reformers globally in 2019.
Wells in Islamabad for a four-day visit, which diplomatic sources termed crucial just ahead of the possible peace deal between the US and Afghan Taliban.
The visit is part of her 10-day tour of the region, during which she has already been to Sri Lanka and India before her arrival in Pakistan.
