WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Earnest told the reporters flying with the US leader to Alaska that the invitation had been delivered to the Pakistani leader by US National Security Adviser Susan Rice on a visit to Islamabad, and that Sharif was expected in to come next month, according to a White House transcript of the press gaggle.
"It is true that Ambassador Rice did invite the Prime Minister to visit the White House in late October. And we certainly are looking forward to that visit," the spokesman said. "There are obviously a lot of important issues to discuss."
On Sunday, Rice visited Pakistan and met with Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif.
However, Earnest praised the general state of US-Pakistan security cooperation, without providing any specifics.
"The United States and Pakistan have been able to effectively cooperate on a range of security and counterterrorism priorities, and we certainly are appreciative of that kind of relationship," he told reporters.
Earnest did admit that Washington wanted to see further action against Islamist networks from the Islamabad government.
"We have indicated on a number of occasions that there is more work we believe that the Pakistani government can do to confront extremist groups and others that pose a security threat to the interest of the Pakistani people as well as the national security interests of the United States," he continued.
"That certainly was part of the discussion that Ambassador Rice had with the Pakistani officials, and I’m confident that will be on the agenda when Prime Minister Sharif visits the United States later this fall," he continued.
The Foreign Policy blog reported on Monday, citing an unnamed US senior official that Rice told Sharif militant attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan were "absolutely unacceptable" and that she demanded Islamabad crack down on militant groups including the Haqqani Network.
