Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk
KABUL: The United States envoy Angela Aggeler met with Pakistani Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to continue bilateral discussions on post-withdrawal Afghanistan and the peace process.
“During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, overall regional security situation, including recent developments in Afghan peace process, and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The meeting between the US chargé d’affaires and the army chief was part of the ongoing engagement between the two countries on Afghanistan.
Several high-level contacts have taken place between the two sides in the past fortnight starting with a telephone conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
It has been speculated that the US has been asking for bases in Pakistan after the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi had earlier this week said that Pakistan would not allow American bases in the country. “Let this house and the Pakistani nation be a witness to my testimony that under Imran Khan there will be no American base built on Pakistani soil. Forget about the past,” he had asserted.
“The government of Pakistan has categorically said that we will not allow kinetic use of drones nor are we interested in the surveillance of your drones. That’s a very clear-cut policy of this government,” Mr Qureshi further said.
Moreover, the Taliban have warned the “neighbors” against hosting the US forces after their departure from Afghanistan, saying that any such action would be seen as “provocative”.
