High-level talks between the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan due later this month have been postponed, the State Department said Saturday in the latest sign of strained US ties with Islamabad. The trilateral annual talks, in which ministers and other top officials outline progress on issues such as the war in Afghanistan and the campaign against extremism, had been scheduled for February 23-24 in Washington.
"In light of the political changes in Pakistan and after discussions with Afghan and Pakistani officials in Washington, it was agreed to postpone the Trilateral Meeting," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement. "We look forward to convening a very productive Trilateral Meeting at the earliest opportunity," he said, adding that Washington remains "committed to robust engagement between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States, as we share many issues of mutual concern and benefit from being at the same table."
No new date was announced. A diplomatic crisis has boiled up in recent weeks between Washington and Islamabad over a US official accused of shooting dead two Pakistanis in broad daylight. The United States has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to free the American, Raymond Davis, who has claimed he acted in self-defence because he feared the men were trying to rob him, but Pakistani police on Friday rejected the self-defence claim and a court extended his remand.
US lawmakers have threatened to cut payments to Pakistan, the beneficiary of $7.5 billion dollars of aid and $2 billion in military aid, and Washington had warned that the high-level dialogue was at risk unless Davis is freed. On Wednesday Crowley did not rule out that the trilateral meeting could be affected.
"We want to have a productive meeting. And if there's a reason why we don't think the meeting will be productive, we're prepared to make adjustments," Crowley said when reporters pressed him about potential fallout from the case. "But if we do make those decisions, we'll let you know," he added.
Last weekend Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declined to meet Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at a conference in Munich to show displeasure over the case, according to a diplomat familiar with the issue. US officials have told Pakistan that the case of the imprisoned American "has to be resolved before we can move to a higher level of discussion," the diplomat told AFP.