Trump Meets Pakistani Leader Khan as U.S. Presses to End Afghan War - WSJ

WASHINGTON—President Trump welcomed Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday, where U.S. officials hope the president can persuade Pakistan to pressure the Afghan Taliban to agree to a cease-fire and hold direct talks with the Afghan government.

The meeting comes as Pakistan has been cooperating with the U.S. to press the Taliban to strike a peace deal, with the goal of allowing the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

The U.S. approached the meeting with cautious optimism, a senior administration official said on Friday. The official said the U.S. was appreciative of Pakistan’s initial steps, but added: “We are reaching a critical juncture.”

“Khan is saying the right things,” the official said. “But what we really need to see to prove that this is something different are, you know, actual arrests and convictions, as well as evictions of those Taliban and Haqqani leaders who don’t support peace.” The Haqqani network is a major Taliban-aligned insurgent group in Afghanistan.

Mr. Khan’s visit, the official said, is an “opportunity to incentivize Pakistan to use its full leverage and influence with the Taliban to advance the peace process in Afghanistan.”

The meeting follows Mr. Trump’s decision last year to hold the first sustained U.S. talks with the Taliban, an approach Pakistani officials have advocated for years. Mr. Trump is seeking to conclude a deal with the Taliban by September—an agreement that could allow the U.S. to exit Afghanistan, where it has thousands of troops, a year before Mr. Trump seeks re-election.

Mr. Trump was set to hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Khan in the Oval Office, followed by an expanded working lunch. The visit was scheduled to last a little over two hours.

The two leaders were set to discuss potential cooperation on trade, energy and women’s issues, the official said, describing the encounter as a rapport-building meeting.

The Pakistani prime minister was to be accompanied at the White House by his army chief, Gen. Qamar Bajwa, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan’s military, which controls which policy toward Afghanistan and has long been accused by Washington of supporting the Taliban, has given strong backing to Mr. Khan. - Read More
Trump Meets Pakistani Leader as U.S. Presses to End Afghan War