Come October, America’s crude war of revenge on Afghanistan will enter its seventeenth year. Despite the fact that it is the longest war America has ever fought, success is yet a dream. One thing that American-led forces have achieved in Afghanistan is the destruction of the limited socioeconomic infrastructure of the country already in tatters.
With Trump’s occupation of the White House, there was confusion about what policy will be preferred in Afghanistan. In the mid of this year, reports speculated that either more troops would be sent to the conflict zone or to avoid growing discontent at home; the war will be privatised. However, a few weeks ago reports surfaced that suggest a complete American withdrawal from Afghan soil.
Twitter obsessed President, Donald Trump, tweeted early on Saturday, “Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan.” However, no elaborations on “Many decisions on Afghanistan” have come from White House. It seems that it will take some more time for the Trump administration to come up with a comprehensive policy on Afghanistan. Delays in formulating a policy regarding Afghanistan is an indication of disagreements within Trump’s camp on how to deal with the situation in Afghanistan. Therefore no exact time has been set, though it was expected that by the end of July, the Trump team would make their policy public on Afghanistan.
Many observers, including top American generals, have suggested that the war in Afghanistan has reached a stalemate and is unwinnable. However, the same cannot be said for insurgents. They have carried far more deadly attacks on Afghan soil this year. In the first five months of 2017, almost 2500 afghan police and troops have been killed as result of insurgents’ attacks.
Meanwhile, a military delegation on a two-day visit to Pakistan headed by General Joseph L Votel stressed on the need of military cooperation with Pakistan. Though the General has appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in combating terrorism from the region, yet he repeated the clichéd rhetoric that Pakistan should not allow its soil for terrorists to carry attacks against its neighbors.
The US approach towards Pakistan is that of a carrot and stick. The Pakistani Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, rightly told the delegation that Pakistan wants a peaceful Afghanistan for a peaceful Pakistan. However, what Pakistan needs to do is to stop accepting dictation from Americans. Instead, Pakistan should ask America to find a peaceful solution to the Afghan quagmire. The most intelligent step that American can take will be to call for all the groups and persuade them to play their part in reconstruction of the war torn country.