ISLAMABAD, MAR 03 (DNA) – Pakistan and the United States will hold talks in Washington next week amid the persistent tension, officials said.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua’s visit to Washington from March 6-8 was aimed at defusing the tension and finding “common ground”.

An official said: “She will be meeting senior officials in Washington aiming at improving the Pak-US ties.”

The official added that Pakistan was ready to show flexibility to save the alliance.

The visit comes after Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif made it clear that Pakistan  would no more sacrifice its interest for the sake of the US  . Asif said Pakistan  wouldits foreign policy keeping in view the national interest.

The minister said if the US  wanted peace in the region, it should review its south Asia policy.

The shaky Pak-US ties received a severe shock when US President Donald Trump suspended the security assistance to Pakistan targeting the Coalition Support Fund at the start of the year 2018.

Trump alleged Pakistan  was not taking action against the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban.

The US president claimed givingPakistan $33 billion in aid. The US had sanctioned $33.4 billion for reimbursements to Pakistan  during the past 15 years, 44 per cent of which was on account of anti-terror services.

Last month, the Financial Action Task Force discussed a US-sponsored resolution to placePakistan  on the terrorist financing watch-list. The Foreign Office confirmed this week that Pakistan will be included in the watch-list in June this year.