US, Pakistani officials in strained talks on Afghanistan

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United States and Pakistan are meeting in difficult talks over the path forward in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The negotiations Friday between Washington’s deputy secretary of state and Pakistani leaders came amid an array of unsettled issues. Those include the level of engagement with Taliban leaders, the ongoing evacuation of nationals and whether to help pay for the new government. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is meeting with Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, considered the leading architect of Pakistan’s Afghan strategy while Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry wages the diplomatic battle. Sherman also is meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Prime Minister Imran Khan.