WAShington - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the new American strategy on Afghanistan also involves seeking a resolution to tensions between Pakistan and India.
Tillerson, who will be travelling to India and Pakistan next week, said both countries are “important elements” in the US policy for stabilising South Asia. He was speaking at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on ‘US-India Partnership of the next 100 years.’
Tillerson said the new “regional approach” on Afghanistan also involved seeking a resolution to tensions between India and Pakistan. “We intent to work closely with India and Pakistan and we hope to ease tensions along their borders as well... Pakistan has two very troubled borders. We would like to help take the tensions down on both of those,” he said.
“We see it as a regional issue. We solve Afghanistan by addressing the regional challenges. Pakistan is important element in that, India is important element in that,” he said.
Repeatedly referring to India’s democratic politics, Tillerson also referred to India’s Muslim minorities. “India’s diverse population includes more than 170 million Muslims — the third-largest Muslim population in the world. Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of IS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society,” he said. According to a senior State Department official, Secretary Rex Tillerson will visit Pakistan next week during an Asian trip that will also take him to the country’s rival India.
Tillerson’s inaugural visit to South Asia will reaffirm the Donald Trump administration’s comprehensive strategy toward the region, the State Department said on Thursday.
“In Islamabad, the secretary will meet with senior Pakistani leaders to discuss our continued strong bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy, and the expanding economic ties between our two countries,” a statement by the Department said. The secretary will build on the “positive conversations” he and Vice-President Mike Pence had with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, last month in New York, the statement said.
Tillerson will be travelling to Riyadh, Doha, Islamabad, New Delhi, and Geneva from October 20 to 27, but the department has not announced a detailed itinerary.
Meanwhile, the head of the CIA said on Thursday a US-Canadian couple kidnapped by militants in Afghanistan were held inside neighbouring Pakistan for five years before being freed.
“We had a great outcome last week when we were able to get back four US citizens who had been held for five years inside of Pakistan,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank in Washington.
Pompeo’s remarks appeared to be the first time a US official has publicly stated that the couple and their children spent their captivity in Pakistan, contrary to accounts from Pakistani officials.
Pakistan’s military and government have indicated US citizen Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their children were rescued shortly after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan. The couple were kidnapped in 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan and their children were born in captivity.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have previously said there was no indication the hostages had been in Afghanistan in the days before they were freed. The officials said the United States believed the hostages were probably held by the Haqqani militant group.
After the release of the family, Pakistani officials emphasized the importance of cooperation and intelligence sharing by Washington, which has threatened to cut military aid and take other punitive measures against Pakistan.
However, two Taliban sources with knowledge of the family’s captivity said they had been kept in Pakistan in recent years.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday the United States considers the family’s rescue a “template for more cooperation” by Pakistan. “We see this as a first step and we hope that we can build on it,” said the official, adding that Washington is “very frustrated that Taliban and Haqqani militants continue to find sanctuary in Pakistan.”
Pompeo said the US would do everything it could to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table in Afghanistan, but added it could not be achieved if the militants had safe havens.