ISLAMABAD, (DNA) – Pakistan and the United States on Wednesday sent out a clear message that they were ready to reset their bilateral relations, with Islamabad emphasising that finally after several years the diplomatic stalemate has been broken.

Both sides agreed that it was time for them to begin to deliver on all joint commitments so as to build confidence and trust. Pakistan recognised the shift in the US Afghan policy where it now wants to go into direct talks with the Afghan Taliban and wants Pakistan to assist.

The breakthrough came after two lengthy meetings at the Foreign Office and Prime Minister’s Secretariat, by the visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Junjua, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Bajwa and DG ISI Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar.

Secretary Pompeo welcomed the smooth transition of power to a new civilian government, stressing the importance of strong democratic institutions. Qureshi announced later in a press conference that he was invited by Pompeo to Washington to carry forward the discussion held Wednesday in Islamabad.

“During my visit to New York to attend the UNGA, I will also go to Washington to meet my counterpart. But my first visit will be to Kabul. They are our neighbours; we are joined by geography, culture and tradition. Now we need to be each other’s support system and work together too. If Pakistan progresses, it will be beneficial to Afghanistan as well and vice versa,” he said.

“The perception of ‘do more’ or friction in the meeting is factually incorrect,” said the foreign minister. “We presented realistic stance to the US authorities,” he said. According to the stated positions of both countries, it was apparent that though all the differences on bilateral issues and Afghanistan had not been resolved in a matter of few hours, but there was a resolve to recognise these problems and move forward to resolve them.

Pakistan says the way of how to move forward on Afghanistan was blocking the way for improved bilateral relations with the US. The foreign minister said he frankly told his counterpart that if he wanted to proceed with Pakistan, the foundation lies in trust, frank and candid conversation. He said until and unless these concerns are addressed from both sides, progress is not possible.

“I spoke out to Secretary Pompeo and made him understand the mindset and approach of the new government under PM Imran Khan. Pakistan wants to see and review policies with the United States in a new light and has an approach that also involves its neighbours,” said the foreign minister. The US embassy released a statement and a press talk that Pompeo had with journalists who accompanied him.

“We talked about their new government, the opportunity to reset the relationship betweenour two countries across a broad spectrum — economic, business, and commercial, the work that we all know that we need to do to try and develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan, which benefits certainly Afghanistan but also the United States and Pakistan. And I’m hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the set the conditions for continued success as we start to move forward,” Pompeo told the US media as he flew to New Delhi.