ISLAMABAD - Pakistan can avoid “rupture” in relations with the United States by helping it stabilise Afghanistan.
This was suggested by Dr Moeed Yusuf, associate vice president of the Asia Center at the US Institute of Peace (USIP) Washington, while speaking at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), an Islamabad-based think tank, on “Trump Administration’s prospective policy towards Pakistan”.
Dr Yusuf proposed that Pakistan should act against Haqqani network and taliban in a verifiable manner.
He gave an overview of the ongoing reassessment of the US policy on Afghanistan by Trump Administration and its likely implications for uneasy Pak-US ties. The policy that would emerge from the process, which has come to be known as the “South Asia review”, is expected to have a greater regional perspective.
Dr Yusuf touched on the reports that Washington could get tougher with Islamabad especially on the issue of terrorist sanctuaries.
He said that there were divisions within the Trump administration on dealing with Pakistan, but one view that was gaining traction among the public was that pressure on Islamabad for acting against taliban and Haqqani network should be ramped up.
Violence has gone up in Afghanistan, where Afghan government is struggling to contain the taliban insurgency.
As per the UN statistics, there have been 1,662 civilian deaths during the first six months of the year, a majority of which was because of suicide attacks and improvised explosive device blasts. Military casualties have also been shockingly high.
President Trump appears to be losing patience with the situation and in one of the review meetings suggested firing of his top commander in Afghanistan Gen John Nicholson.
Pakistan is blamed for the worsening situation in Afghanistan for not eliminating Haqqani network and taliban sanctuaries.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Alice Wells, while visiting Islamabad last week, stressed that “Pakistani soil must not be used to plan or conduct terrorist attacks against its neighbours”.
Dr Yusuf warned that a breakdown in bilateral relationship would serve neither country’s interests and advised that ways should be explored to avoid such an undesirable situation.
He noted that, while neither sides were wanting a split, but a terrorism incident in Afghanistan with American casualties could push the two in that direction.
Dr Yusuf was further of the view that while it was difficult for the US and Pakistan to develop convergence on Afghanistan, India, and the nuclear issue, efforts should be made for broadening the areas of cooperation.
Earlier, CISS Executive Director Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi gave his perspective on the US-Pakistan relations and the existing regional situation.