US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin on Monday praised Pakistan’s cooperation for peace in Afghanistan.
Austin, in a telephone conversation with Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, according to a readout of the conversation issued by Pentagon, “expressed gratitude for Islamabad’s continued support for the Afghan peace process”.
According to the US version of the conversation Secretary Austin reinforced his country’s commitment to maintaining a strong bilateral defence relationship with Pakistan.
The praise is not without reasons as it was because of Pakistan’s robust cooperation that major stakeholders in Afghanistan are now talking more about the peaceful resolution of the problem than the military engagement that served nothing except to complicate things for Afghanistan as well as the occupation forces.
Pakistan has been closely engaged with the US in the Afghan peace process and facilitated the signing of the US-Taliban agreement and later the commencement of the intra-Afghan talks, which currently appear stalled because of the review process going on in Washington.
The Biden Administration is currently reviewing the deal and the process would lead to a final decision whether or not to adhere to the agreed timeline for withdrawal of troops.
In this backdrop, the Secretary of Defence should have better visited Pakistan to get input on pros and cons of the decision.
Lloyd Austin visited India despite the fact that the country has no direct stakes in the issue and has only been active as a spoiler to deny peace dividends to Pakistan, Afghanistan and the entire region.
It is understood that Austin’s visit to New Delhi was part of the unchanged US policy of preparing India to counter China but it is understood that Afghan issue also came under discussion.
As a neighbour, Pakistan has major stakes in Afghan peace and, therefore, the United States ought to have broader engagements with Islamabad especially in the backdrop of a draft peace agreement that the US has floated.
Though the Biden Administration has not taken an ultimate decision but remarks of the US President that it was tough to meet May 1 deadline for troop pullout from Afghanistan give an indication of what could be the outcome of the ongoing review.
Meaningful consultations with Pakistan assume greater relevance as the country might not be able to use its leverage with Taliban effectively if they are offended by breach of the accord that the US inked with them.
