US today refused to get involved in peace talks between Taliban and the Pakistani government, saying the decision to negotiate with the terror group was an internal matter of that country.
The Obama administration, however, said its efforts for peace process in Afghanistan would continue as situation was different there.
“Every country’s different. But you know, with Afghanistan, we’ve long said that those talks need to be between Afghans talking to Afghans. That remains certainly our belief and our view and one we’ve communicated to all sides in that case as well,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
But the US is closely following the developments in this regard in Pakistan, she said. “We of course, are following it closely, as you would expect. The issue of whether to negotiate is an internal matter for Pakistan,” she said.
“We work closely with them on a range of issues, of course, but this isn’t a dialogue or discussion that the United States would be involved in as you know, I’m sure,” the State Department spokesperson said.
“We’re obviously monitoring it. We’ll see how things proceed. But again, the decision to negotiate with the TTP is an internal matter for Pakistan,” she said in response to another question.
The US, she said, has a shared interest with Pakistan to bring an end to extremist violence and move the country forward toward a more prosperous and stable and peaceful region.
“So any step toward that is certainly a step we would encourage. But in terms of further analysis of these talks and the status and what the outcome would be, we don’t have anything further,” Psaki said.
Her comments came hours after reports said Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike today in the lawless North Waziristan tribal region that borders Afghanistan.