WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has informed Congress
that it will take unilateral steps in areas of divergence with Pakistan
while expanding cooperation between the two countries where their
interests converge.
In a report to Congress, which was
released to the media this weekend, the Pentagon also underlined the
need for a joint US-Afghan platform for combating more than 20 militant
groups active in the region.
This is the Pentagon’s first report on Afghanistan since Aug 21, when President Donald Trump announced his new South Asia strategy, which deepens American military involvement in Afghanistan while urging Pakistan to back US efforts for defeating the Taliban.
The
report to Congress emphasised the need for a “fundamental change” in
the way Pakistan deals with the alleged terrorist safe havens on its
territory.
The Pentagon also informed the lawmakers that
the new US strategy calls for a whole-of-government, regional approach
to isolate the Taliban from “sources of external support” and to
mitigate any malign influence from outside actors.
“Our
military-to-military relationship with Pakistan remains critical to the
success of our mutual interests in the region,” says the report. “To
move forward, we must see fundamental changes in the way Pakistan deals
with terrorist safe-havens in its territory.”
To induce
that change, the Pentagon proposed working across the US government,
“using a range of tools to expand our cooperation with Pakistan in areas
where our interests converge and to take unilateral steps in areas of
divergence”.
The report noted that more than 20 terrorist
or insurgent groups were still active in Afghanistan and Pakistan and
their existence “requires an Afghan-supported US platform in the region
to monitor, contain, and respond to these threats”.
The
report said that the Pak-Afghan border region remained a sanctuary for
groups like Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, the Haqqani
network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, ISIS-K and the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
“Sanctuary on the
Pakistani side and presence on the Afghan side remain security
challenges for both countries and pose a threat to regional security and
stability,” the report added.
The Pentagon said that
recent Pakistani military operations had disrupted some militant
sanctuaries, certain extremist groups — such as the Taliban and the
Haqqani network — “retain freedom of movement in Pakistan”.
“The
United States continues to convey to all levels of Pakistani leadership
the importance of taking action against all terrorist and extremist
groups,” the report added.
The report acknowledged that
the hard-won US gains in Afghanistan were fragile, but worth defending
and the United States had aligned its diplomatic, military, and economic
resources to seek a negotiated settlement to this 17-year-old war.
“We
have recommitted to helping the Afghan government and people navigate
through these challenges with a new approach that leverages additional
support from allies, partners, and regional actors,” it said.
The
Pentagon also informed the Afghan government that the US commitment to
them was “enduring but not unlimited” and this support was “not a blank
check”.
“As long as the Afghan government continues to
show real progress and make real reforms, we will continue to support
them as our strategic partners in the fight against international
terrorism,” the report said.
The Pentagon also stressed
the need for making the Taliban realise that they cannot win on the
battlefield. “They must know that their only path to peace and political
legitimacy is through a negotiated settlement with the Afghan
government,” the report added.
In a recent speech at a Washington think tank, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also emphasised this point,
saying that Washington’s new conditions-based approach was to “ensure
the Taliban know, you will never win a battlefield victory, and the way
forward is going to be by engaging in a reconciliation process and
ultimately joining a government in Afghanistan”.
