ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan postponed a visit by a U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State, officials said, as small protests broke out against President Donald Trump’s accusations that Islamabad was prolonging the war in Afghanistan.

Placards are seen left by the Shi'ite supporters of Imamia Students Organization (ISO) after police dispersed them during a protest rally against the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Karachi, Pakistan August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

The visit of Alice Wells, acting assistant Secretary of State for South and Asian Affairs, scheduled for Monday, would have been the first high-profile visit by a U.S. official since Trump’s Afghan policy speech on Aug. 21.

“At the request of the Government of Pakistan, Acting Assistant Secretary Wells’ trip has been postponed until a mutually convenient time,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson told Reuters in Islamabad on Sunday.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry released a statement with similar wording.

Neither side gave a reason for the postponement, but U.S. officials working in Pakistan have been on high-alert since Monday’s speech.

Trump accused Pakistan of harboring “agents of chaos” and providing safe havens to militant groups waging an insurgency against a U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

Pakistani officials responded by saying the U.S. should not “scapegoat” Pakistan and accused the American military of failing to eliminate militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

In the southern metropolis of Karachi, police fired teargas at protesters from a religious student group as they began moving toward the U.S. consulate building.

Between 100 and 150 protesters carrying placards bearing pictures of President Trump and chanting anti-U.S. slogans were kept at bay by police and not allowed within 3 km (2 miles) of the consulate.

On Friday, banned Islamist organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa, held responsible by Washington and New Delhi for a series of coordinated attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, staged nationwide protests but also failed to draw large numbers.</s>Pakistan on Sunday postponed a visit by the United States Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Asian Affairs Alice Wells, that was scheduled for Monday, Reuters reported. Islamabad’s move came six days after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of giving safe haven to terrorists.

“At the request of the Government of Pakistan, Acting Assistant Secretary Wells’ trip has been postponed until a mutually convenient time,” US embassy spokesperson Rick Sinelsine said. While neither Pakistan nor the US has given an official reason for the postponement, US embassy officials working in Pakistan have been on high alert since Trump’s speech on August 21.

Meanwhile, 100 to 150 members of the Imamia Students Organisation, carrying placards against Trump and chanting anti-US slogans organised a protest in Karachi on Sunday. The protesters moved towards the US consulate in the city, but were stopped by police and not allowed within three kilometres of the building.</s>ISLAMABAD: Acting US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Alice Wells postponed her scheduled trip to Islamabad, the US Embassy in Pakistan confirmed on Sunday.

Earlier, the US State Department had issued a statement that Alice Wells would travel to Islamabad, Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) from August 28 to September 2, where she was set to meet with government officials, business leaders, and civil society representatives to discuss US cooperation in the region.

According to US Embassy spokesman, the government of Pakistan requested to postpone the scheduled visit of Alice Wells, acting assistant Secretary of State for South and Asian Affairs.

The visit of Alice Wells, scheduled for Monday, would have been the first high-profile visit by a US official since Trump’s Afghan policy speech on August 21.

The new date of the visit has not been decided, while US Embassy spokesman said that Wells visit to Pakistan will be rescheduled after mutual understanding of both countries.

US and Pakistan have been experiencing critical times of relations since US president Donald Trump announced his strategy for the region on Tuesday, harshly criticising Pakistan for providing a safe haven to "agents of chaos".

Trump cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan, backtracking from his promise to rapidly end America's longest war, while pillorying ally Pakistan.

In response to Trump's 'disappointing' accusations, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired the meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), where Pakistan’s top security body discussed the recent review of US policy for the Pak-Afghan region and strongly rejected certain allegations leveled against the country.</s>ISLAMABAD: US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells will visit Pakistan tomorrow. The visit holds great importance as she is the first high-level US official to arrive, after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists.

The US State Department announced on Saturday that Alice Well would meet the civil and military leadership. This would be her second visit to Islamabad in the month. Earlier Wells met Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.</s>ISLAMABAD (REUTERS) - Pakistan postponed a visit by a United States acting assistant Secretary of State, officials said, as small protests broke out against President Donald Trump's accusations that Islamabad was prolonging the war in Afghanistan.

The visit of Alice Wells, acting assistant Secretary of State for South and Asian Affairs, scheduled for Monday (Aug 28), would have been the first high-profile visit by a US official since Mr Trump's Afghan policy speech on Aug 21.

"At the request of the Government of Pakistan, Acting Assistant Secretary Wells' trip has been postponed until a mutually convenient time," a US Embassy spokesperson told Reuters in Islamabad on Sunday.

Pakistan's foreign ministry released a statement with similar wording. Neither side gave a reason for the postponement, but US officials working in Pakistan have been on high-alert since Mr Trump's speech last Monday.

Mr Trump accused Pakistan of harbouring "agents of chaos" and providing safe havens to militant groups waging an insurgency against a US-backed government in Kabul.

Pakistani officials responded by saying the US should not"scapegoat" Pakistan and accused the American military of failing to eliminate militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

In the southern metropolis of Karachi, police fired teargas at protesters from a religious student group as they began moving toward the US consulate building.

Between 100 and 150 protesters carrying placards bearing pictures of President Trump and chanting anti-US slogans were kept at bay by police and not allowed within 3 km of the consulate.

On Friday, banned Islamist organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa, held responsible by Washington and New Delhi for a series of coordinated attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, staged nationwide protests but also failed to draw large numbers.</s>A top US official's visit to Islamabad has been postponed at the request of the Pakistan government amid anti-American protests in Karachi, according to media reports.

Pakistan's Dawn daily on Sunday quoted US Embassy spokesman Rick Sinelsine as saying that the trip by Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State in-charge of South and Central Asia, was "postponed until a mutually convenient time" at the request of the Pakistani government.

Wells would have been the first high-level official to visit Pakistan after Donald Trump last week issued the bluntest warning so far by a US President that "it has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists".

Samaa TV reported that police baton-charged and tear-gassed a protest rally by Imamia Student Organisation (ISO) in Karachi on Sunday "to condemn recent US allegations on Pakistan" as it tried to move towards the American consulate in the port city.

Wells, was slated to meet government and civil society leaders in Pakistan during the visit that was to begin on Monday.

According to the US State Department, Wells was also scheduled to visit Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The News International characterised Islamabad's demand to postpone the visit as an act of defiance.

"It is not often that the Pakistani government has shown spine in the face of threats from Washington and by telling the State Department that officials concerned are not available, a clear message has gone through that enough is enough," it wrote.

The Daily Times reported that Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters in Sialkot that the Taliban were the problem of the US and Afghanistan and not of Pakistan.

"If the US doesn't trust us, it should repatriate Afghan immigrants in Pakistan itself," the daily quoted him as saying.

Pakistani media reported that China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi "reaffirmed its continuing support to Pakistan and vowed to further strengthen strategic friendship with it" during a meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Beijing.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met with General Li Zuocheng, Chief of Staff of China's People's Liberation Army, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Radio Pakistan reported.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Quadrilateral Counter Terrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) meeting.</s>Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells’s visit to Pakistan has been postponed.

 According to the United States Embassy, the official visit of Alice Wells was postponed upon the request of the government of Pakistan.

 Alice Wells was supposed to visit Pakistan in the upcoming week as tensions between US and the Islamic Republic turned sour after President Trump’s accusations against Pakistan.

 Following Trump’s incendiary remarks, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif delayed his

 tour to the United States and said that he could visit China, Russia before US.

 The spokesperson for the US embassy says that due to senior officials being tied up with prior commitments and having no time, Wells has put off her tour.

 The spokesperson said in a statement that Wells will now arrive in the country next week.

 Wells, who is also the Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will discuss the new American policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan’s reservations on the matter with the civil-military leadership, the US State Department has said.

 Her visit to Islamabad will be the American diplomat’s second this month which follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of new Afghan policy with deployment of thousands more troops in the war-torn country and pillorying Pakistan for offering safe haven to militants.</s>Tensions between Pakistan and the United States are running high after Donald Trump accused Islamabad of both harbouring terrorists and failing to fight terrorism more widely. Pakistan not only denies these allegations but feels deeply insulted by the United States.

During his announcement of a troop surge in Afghanistan, Donald Trump said the following in respect of Pakistan,

“Third, and finally, I concluded that the security threats we face in Afghanistan and the broader region are immense. Today, 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organisations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the highest concentration in any region anywhere in the world. For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen”.

This combined with Trump inviting India whose relations with Pakistan continue to deteriorate under the Hindutva extremist Premiership of Narendra Modi, led to widespread protests throughout Pakistan.

China has come to Pakistan’s defence over Trump’s allegations. A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry delivered shortly after Trump’s Afghanistan statement reads as follows,

“The Chinese side is actively committed to promoting the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. We always maintain that political dialogue is the only way out for resolving the Afghanistan issue. The international community should support the ‘Afghan-led’ and ‘Afghan-owned’ reconciliation process, support Afghanistan in realising the widespread and inclusive political reconciliation, support the Afghan people in exploring a development path suiting their own national conditions and support the Afghan government in enhancing counter-terrorism capability and combating extreme terrorist forces. We need to attach importance to the important role of Pakistan in the Afghanistan issue and respect the sovereignty and legitimate security concerns of Pakistan. The Chinese side is willing to maintain communication and coordination with the United States on the Afghanistan issue and make concerted efforts for achieving the peace and stability of Afghanistan and the region at large”.

Shortly thereafter, Russian Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov made a statement that many consider to be Moscow’s official defence of Pakistan. He said,

The aggregate effect of Pakistan’s diplomatic self-defence with China and Russia clearly taking Islamabad’s side has resulted in Pakistan officially postponing a planned visit by US Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells that was due to take place this week.

While both the United States and Pakistan blame scheduling issues, a more frank assessment of things comes from Pakistan Today. Pakistan Today quotes a member of the ruling PML-N who stated the following annonymously

“We have sacrificed our lives while fighting the terrorists; we have suffered financial, infrastructural and institutional destruction but still we are being blamed by our so-called strategic partners. It’s about time we rethink our policies. Moreover, since sentiments of betrayal are running deep at the moment, the aggrieved party feels it’s not appropriate to hold a dialogue. Hence, Pakistan has asked for the postponement of the visit”.

“This [Trump’s invitation to India] despite our repeated complaints of Indian use of Afghan soil to create instability in Pakistan. We have shared vital information about this effect. We believe India cannot be the net security provider in South Asia region, as it has conflictual relationships with all its neighbours, and is pursuing a policy of destabilising Pakistan from the east and the west”.

With the support of China and Russia, Pakistan can increasingly live without US economic initiatives. As a result, Pakistan’s leaders are standing firmly against remarks by Donald Trump which are both insulting and provocative and in respect of India, a threat to Pakistan’s strategic security interests.</s>Pakistan has postponed a visit by a top US diplomat who had been due to arrive here today, days after President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Islamabad for providing safe havens to agents of chaos that kill Americans. Alice Wells, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was set to be the first major American official to visit the country since the president’s comments, but her visit has been put off by the Pakistan government “until a mutually convenient time”.

The Foreign Office did not give any reason for postponing the visit. But government sources said Islamabad was still evolving a response to the US accusations that Pakistan was providing safe havens to militants and prolonging the US’ 16-year Afghan war. It would be “premature” to interact with the senior US state department official at this time, they added.

In Washington, the state department confirmed Wells’ trip has been postponed at the Pakistan government’s “request”, but it too did not provide any reason for delaying the visit. Wells’ visit was scheduled as part of her three-nation South Asia tour. She would continue with her trip to Dhaka and Colombo, according to the state department.

The Pakistan government has tasked Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to garner support from friendly countries. He is expected to visit China, Russia and Turkey next week in the first phase of the country’s regional diplomatic outreach. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

News reports in Pakistan said he was accompanied by Asif on the trip and discussed the US’ new Afghan strategy there. The Pakistan-US ties received a fresh jolt on Saturday when Gen John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, claimed in a TV interview that his country was aware of Afghan Taliban leadership’s presence in Peshawar and Quetta.

Pakistan has repeatedly denied it hosts the Taliban. Asif yesterday said the Afghan Taliban were the US and Afghanistan’s problem, not Pakistan’s.

He told reporters in Sialkot that Pakistan has been hosting the Afghan refugees for decades and the US “should help to repatriate them back to Afghanistan if they do not trust us.”

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>Pakistan has postponed a visit by a US diplomat who had been due to arrive Monday, a week after President Donald Trump publicly upbraided Islamabad for harbouring militants attacking US and Afghan troops.

The delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Alice Wells was set to be the first major visit by an American official since the president's comments.

"At the request of the Gov't of Pakistan, the visit of the US delegation has been postponed until a mutually convenient time," the foreign ministry said late Sunday.

In a major speech outlining US policy on Afghanistan Trump slammed Pakistan for offering safe havens to "agents of chaos" and suggested relations would be adjusted immediately. He offered few details.

Successive US administrations have criticised Pakistan for maintaining links with the Taliban and harbouring leading jihadists -- like Osama bin Laden.

Following Trump's remarks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also cautioned that Pakistan could lose its status as a major US ally and see its US military aid suspended.

Pakistan's powerful military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in comments after the speech, demanded "trust" rather than continued financial aid from Washington.

Islamabad has repeatedly denied claims of being soft on militancy, accusing its ally of ignoring the thousands who have been killed in Pakistan and the billions spent fighting extremists.
Pakistan postpones a visit from U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells, its foreign ministry says, as some protest President Donald Trump's accusations that Pakistan is harbouring terrorists.