Nawaz Sharif may have accepted Barack Obama's invitation: White House

WASHINGTON: The US believes that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted US President Barack Obama's invitation to meet him at the White House later next month to discuss a lot of important issues.

"I assume that he (Sharif) has (accepted Obama's invitation)," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday while reiterating that Islamabad needs to do more in its fight against terrorism.

He was responding to queries about the October 22 invitation to Sharif by Obama which was delivered by the US National Security Advisor Susan Rice during her visit to Islamabad last week.

"I have not seen a formal statement of his accepting it, but I'm not sure that was necessary. But 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. There are obviously a lot of important issues to discuss," Earnest said.

Responding to questions, Earnest said the first item on the agenda of Rice's meetings with top Pakistani leadership last week was the security relationship between the US and Pakistan.