WASHINGTON -  Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has said that blaming Pakistan for failures in Afghanistan war is unfair.

He stated this while participating in a discussion titled "Broadening the lens beyond security: The next few decades of US-Pakistan relations" at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Monday.

Without naming Trump, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US pushed against US claims that it hasn’t done enough on terrorism. Aizaz said that the tide of terrorism has been reversed and added that the militants and the terrorists are on the run and we are chasing them and we will continue to do that.

Aizaz said that the core issue at this time, which is causing distrust between Pakistan and the United States, is Afghanistan, where the United States has invested billions in treasure, but also in blood.

Aizaz outlined a number of steps Government of Pakistan has taken to facilitate the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan. He said that strong and durable Pak-US partnership is essential to achieve the common objectives of peace and stability in the region, especially for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Aizaz presented a strong case for Pakistan-US bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and commonality of interests. He said that cooperation between Pakistan and the United States based on strong and durable ties was essential to achieving the common objectives of peace and stability in the region, especially for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.

He pointed out that Pakistan has fully supported international efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan and has time and again emphasised that there is no military solution to the long-running conflict.

Islamabad has also said that it is supporting efforts for peace as stability in Afghanistan was vital for peace and stability in Pakistan, he said.

He also highlighted the efforts and sacrifices of Pakistani people and security forces to defeat the forces of terrorism.

The improved security situation, the Ambassador added, has contributed to the uptick in the economic indicators of the country and the economic strides have been appreciated by world bodies such as IMF and the World Bank.

Ambassador Chaudhry highlighted the enormous opportunities in Pakistan for foreign investment and said that more US corporate entities have also shown keen interest in taking advantage of the improved economic situation in the country. He emphasised the need for the Pakistan and the US to work together to enhance economic content of the relationship for mutual prosperity.

The Ambassador also touched upon the various other aspects of the 70 years of the multifaceted bilateral relationship between Pakistan and US including the strong people-to-people contacts.

Meanwhile, after the weekend terror attack in Kabul, the White House demanded Pakistan that it needs to immediately arrest or expel the Taliban leaders who operate from Pakistani territory.

"We call on Pakistan to immediately arrest or expel the Taliban leaders and prevent the group from using Pakistani territory to support its operations," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House spokeswoman.

The White House statement came even as the Trump administration has doubled down on the pressure on Pakistan, which it alleges provides safe haven to terrorists and terror groups that carry out attacks in Afghanistan and in India.

"Such attacks on civilians only strengthen our resolve to support our Afghan partners. Afghan forces with our support will continue to relentlessly pursue the enemies of Afghanistan who also seek to export terror around the world," said the White House spokeswoman.

On Sunday, Pakistan's Foreign Office had rejected “knee-jerk allegations” by some Afghan circles of the Kabul attack.

Barely an hour after the White House called upon Pakistan to “expel and arrest” Taliban leaders operating from its soil on Monday, Pakistani Ambassador to the US said that his country had already evicted them and their facilities and threw an “open challenge” to anyone who could point to surviving safe havens.

Shortly after Sanders briefing, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said at a think-tank, his country’s military forces had “cleaned out” all terrorists, their “hideouts and sanctuaries and their IED factories” from Pakistan in operations since 2014 and “when somebody turns around and tells us that there are safe havens existing there we state to them please show us where”.

“It’s an open challenge,” the envoy added. “It’s been 10 months or so we have been stating please show us we will ourselves like to eliminate them if someone is hiding in any caves in Pakistan.”

The reference to “10 months” was possibly to the length of the Ambassador’s tenure in DC after assuming office in March 2017.