US president says he will solve Pak-Afghan crisis 'very quickly'

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis “very quickly,” as peace talks between the warring neighbours entered a second day in Istanbul.

- 

The two countries are embroiled in a bitter security row, with each side saying they were responding to aggression from the other during clashes earlier this month.

It was the deadliest fighting between them in several years, marking a low point in relations while also causing alarm in a region where armed groups like Al Qaeda are trying to resurface.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of turning a blind eye to militants who cross the border for attacks, a charge the country’s Taliban rulers reject.

The second round of talks between them began in Istanbul on Saturday, focusing on transforming a fragile ceasefire, achieved earlier this month in Doha, into a durable framework for peace and border security.

"I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up,” said Trump on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Malaysia. "But I'll get that solved very quickly.”

He made the comments while attending the signing of the Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement, adding that the leaders of Pakistan were “great people.”

Trump once again praised the leadership of Pakistan, expressing trust in both Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the country’s Army Chief Field Marshal General Asim Munir.