Pakistan has a “multiplicity of interests” in Afghanistan, together with “some that are in conflict with ours”, United States Secretary of State Antony J Blinken advised Congress on Monday.
The US, Blinken stated, will probably be its relationship with Pakistan within the coming weeks to resolve what function Washington would need it to play in the way forward for Afghanistan.
His assertion is important as a result of Pakistan has great affect on the bottom in Afghanistan, with the ISI-backed Haqqani Network calling the pictures within the Taliban cabinet.
“It (Pakistan) is one that is involved (in) hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved (in) harbouring members of the Taliban…,” Blinken advised the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
“It is one that’s also involved in different points (of) cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken added.
Congressman Joaquin Castro, Democrat from Texas and Chair of the Subcommittee on International Development, International Organisations and Global Corporate Social Impact, requested Blinken whether or not, given Pakistan’s longtime help for the Taliban and the harbouring of the group’s leaders through the years, it was time for the US to reassess its relationship with Islamabad, and its standing as a Major non-NATO ally (MNNA).
Blinken replied that this was one thing that the US would think about.
“For the reasons you cited as well as others, this is one of the things we will be looking at in the day and weeks ahead, the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years and the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that,” he stated.
ExplainedPointer to manner aheadThe Biden administration is going through anger on Capitol Hill over the way of the exit from Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s ‘duplicitous’ function. Blinken’s assertion is important for the reason that ISI has big leverage over the Taliban authorities.
Blinken confronted powerful questions from lawmakers who scrutinised the Biden administration’s response to the scenario in Afghanistan, together with America’s chaotic exit from the nation as Kabul fell to the Taliban and President Ashraf Ghani fled.
Congressman Bill Keating, Democrat from Massachusetts who’s Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment, and Member of the House Armed Services Committee, described Pakistan’s function as “duplicitous”.
“They (Pakistan) created, named, and helped the Taliban regroup in 2010 in Pakistan, and the ISI has strong ties with the Haqqani Network which is responsible for the death of US soldiers,” Keating stated. He added that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan had celebrated the Taliban takeover of Kabul, and described it as “breaking the shackles of slavery”.
“Congress has been told that relations with Pakistan are complicated; I say it is duplicitous,” Keating stated. The US should reassess its relations with Pakistan, he stated.
India has been reaching out to US lawmakers over the previous few weeks. India’s Ambassador in Washington DC, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has been discussing points associated to Afghanistan with them.
