PAKISTAN has urged the United States to consult the Taliban on any extension of a May 1 deadline for a full US troop pullout from Afghanistan and should not decide unilaterally.
The call came from Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan as the Biden Administration conducts a review of a February 2020 deal with the Taliban that is expected to determine whether it will meet the deadline to withdraw the last US soldiers from America’s longest war.
The proposition is worth-consideration if the United States is genuinely interested in restoration of durable peace and security in the war-torn country.
The US and European officials say the Taliban have not fulfilled commitments they made in the accord and that conditions are not conducive to advancing the peace process amid a surge in violence blamed on the insurgents, a charge the Taliban have repeatedly denied.
There is, of course, violence in Afghanistan but it would not be appropriate to put the entire blame of the violence on the Taliban as a number of conflicting interests are at work in Afghanistan.
Pakistan Ambassador’s counselling is understandable as any unilateral decision by the new US Administration could jeopardize the entire process in which Islamabad has invested heavily. Withdrawal of troops is guaranteed under a written agreement and the US should avoid taking any decision that could send wrong signals to the other side as well as to the world community.
