WASHINGTON: The United States was closely following reported talks between the Pakistani government and the TTP but would let Islamabad define those negotiations, the State Department said on Friday.

“We are, of course, following it closely as you would expect … but this is an internal matter for Pakistan,” the department’s spokesperson Jen Psaki told a briefing in Washington.

The official reminded the media that this was not a dialogue and discussion that the US would be involved in.

“We will see how things proceed (as) … we have a shared interest with Pakistan to end violence and bring peace and prosperity to the entire region,” she said.

Ms Psaki said the United States was interested in “the talks, their scope and the outcome” but would refrain from defining them for Pakistan.

She acknowledged that the United States was encouraging talks between the Afghan government and Afghan Taliban as it believed that there’s no military solution to the dispute.