The US has said that it will continue to look to Pakistan to ensure that it makes good on its public statements, and commitments to support the people of Afghanistan as well as counter-terrorism concerns that Washington has.
In a press briefing, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price was asked what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meant when he said that Washington will reassess its relationship with Pakistan following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
Pakistan we know has frequently advocated for an inclusive government with broad support in Afghanistan: US State Dept spokesperson Ned Price
"When it comes to Pakistan, we have been in regular touch with Pakistani counterparts as well as Pakistani leadership. We’ve discussed Afghanistan in some detail," Price responded.
"Pakistan we know has frequently advocated for an inclusive government with broad support in Afghanistan, and what the Secretary was referring to yesterday is that we are going to continue to look to Pakistan and to other countries in the region to make good on their public statements, on commitments they have made, to in different ways step up to support the people of Afghanistan and to work constructively not only with us but the international community to see to it that the priorities that we share.
"This includes the humanitarian concerns, it concerns the rights and the gains of the Afghan people over the past 20 years, as well as the counter-terrorism concerns that we all have – to ensure that we are all walking in the same direction. That’s what the Secretary was referring to yesterday."
US says will assess Pakistan ties over Afghanistan's future
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said that the US will be looking at its relationship with Pakistan in the coming weeks to formulate what role Washington would want it play in the future of Afghanistan.
In the first public hearing in Congress about Afghanistan since last month's collapse of the US-backed Afghan government, Blinken told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that Pakistan has a "multiplicity of interests some that are in conflict with ours."
"This is one of the things we're going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead - the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that," he added.
Pakistan important partner across number of fronts: US State Dept
Meanwhile, in his press briefing, Price also said that when it comes to Pakistan, the US has been in regular touch with Pakistani counterparts as well as Pakistani leadership.
"We’ve discussed Afghanistan in some detail. Pakistan was represented at the ministerial that Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Maas convened last week at Ramstein Airbase in Germany," he said.
"Easing the humanitarian plight of the people of Afghanistan is in everyone’s interest. That includes Pakistan as well as countries that may be farther afield."