Obama, Sharif talk Afghan peace
But no new timeline reached for stalled talks with Taliban
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama welcomed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the White House on Thursday with promises to strengthen a relationship with an ally viewed as the best hope in brokering peace in Afghanistan.
The leaders emerged from a 90- minute Oval Office meeting announcing no timeline for stalled peace talks, nor any major breakthroughs on other items that topped the agenda, including concerns over the growth of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Instead, statements released by the leaders touted new initiatives on trade, clean energy and education for girls.
In brief pleasantries before the meeting, Obama stressed cooperation “not just on security matters, but also on economic and scientific and educational affairs.”
Sharif agreed he hoped “to further strengthen and solidify this relationship.”
The visit comes after Obama backed off his plan to end the now 14- year- old Afghan war before he leaves office in 2017. Last week, he announced the U. S. will keep 5,500 troops there beyond 2016 to continue training and advising Afghan forces and to hunt al- Qaida terrorists.
Obama thanked Sharif for Pakistan’s role in negotiations and stressed that the U. S. believed an “Afghan- led” reconciliation process is “the only way to bring lasting stability and peace to Afghanistan and the region,” according to a White House statement released after the meeting.
Pakistan hosted a landmarkset of preliminary meetings between Afghan officials and the Taliban in July. But a second round of scheduled talks was postponed after the Afghan government revealed that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had died in a Pakistani hospital two years ago.
Earlier this month, Sharif said his government was trying to revive the negotiations between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban. But those talks are complicated by Kabul accusations that Pakistan is playing a double game by cooperating with Washington but also sheltering Taliban leaders.
The U. S.- Pakistan relationship has been rocky over the years, partly because of U. S. concerns about the growth of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The U. S. is interested in moving Pakistan toward an arrangement limiting the scope of its nuclear stockpile.
In a new report released Thursday, two nuclear analysts estimated that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons stockpile has increased to between 110 and 130 warheads from an estimated 90 to 110 in 2011. The analysts, Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, foresee it possibly expanding to 220 to 250 warheads in another 10 years. By comparison, the U. S. has 4,760 warheads, the world’s largest nuclear stockpile.
In a report being published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Kristensen and Norris said Pakistan appears to have six nuclear- capable ballistic missiles in its arsenal, three more than in 2011. At least two other nuclear- capable ballistic missiles and two new cruise missiles are in development, they said, adding that they see signs that Pakistan also is developing a nuclear weapon — possibly a cruise missile — for deployment on submarines.
The U. S. would like to work toward an agreement on nuclear weapons, but the White House downplayed expectations for any deal soon. The men discussed U. S. concerns about nuclear terrorism Thursday and pledged to keep talking, the White House said.
Obama also raised concerns about hostages in the region and asked for Pakistan’s assistance “in every way possible,” the statement said.
In making his troop announcement Oct. 15, Obama noted that Pakistani forces have squeezed remnants of al- Qaida into neighboring Afghanistan.
“Pressure from Pakistan has resulted in more al- Qaida coming into Afghanistan,” Obama said.
Evidence of that was in a statement last week by the U. S. military in Kabul about a large- scale U. S.- Afghan air and ground raid against what it called a well- established al- Qaida training camp in the southern province of Kandahar. The U. S. called it one of the largest such counterterrorism operations ever undertaken in Afghanistan.
Sharif met Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry. State Department spokesman John Kirby said they discussed Obama’s troop announcement, “noting that an Afghan- led and Afghan- owned peace process is the surest way to end violence and ensure lasting stability in Afghanistan and in the region.”
Sharif said Oct. 10 that his government was trying to revive stalled peace talks between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban. He said Islamabad was once again prepared to play mediator to end the Taliban’s battle to regain power in Kabul. The Taliban ruled the country until U. S. forces invaded in October 2001.