Do More, United States
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The world has still not recovered from the quick and clumsy US pull out from Afghanistan and the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban more than a month ago. Reverberations from Afghan related events of mid-August are still loud and clear, especially in the corridors of power in the US, where hearings and official testimonies have been taking place. The Biden administration has been under severe criticism, not only domestically but internationally, over the haphazard withdrawal.
To no one’s surprise, the US administration is once again looking for a scapegoat to dump its strategic failures on, and Pakistan is a perfect candidate. Notwithstanding the fact that the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley referred to the Afghan war as a “strategic failure.”
For decades there have been allegations against Pakistan for harboring Taliban leaders. Political campaigns against Pakistan for not “doing more” against Taliban fighters in bordering Afghanistan have been in full swing. Certain lobby groups on Capitol Hill have been running media and social media propaganda campaigns against Pakistan and portraying the country as the bogey man of the region.
Against this backdrop, recent remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken blaming Pakistan for America’s strategic failures in Afghanistan in a testimony before Congress, are nothing but divisionary tactics to appease their domestic audience... and predictable to say the least. Blinken also stated that the US will be reviewing its relationship with Pakistan in the coming weeks.
It is the need of the hour that a different strategy and narrative be formulated with regard to Pakistan’s Afghan policy, which exonerates Pakistan, and presents an accurate picture of ground realities.
Sehar Kamran
The US Senate Bill titled the “Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act” includes “an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the Taliban between 2001 and 2020.” It also requires “an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the September 2021 offensive of the Taliban against the Panjshir Valley and the Afghan resistance”.
It seems history is once again repeating itself. Events following the US withdrawal are reminiscent of the days following the Afghan war of the 80’s, where Pakistan was left to deal with the consequences of the Russian and US cold war in Afghanistan, and sanctions were imposed. It is something that was admitted by then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an appearance before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee in April 2009. She admitted the role of the US in creating Taliban and how militancy in Pakistan was linked to the US-backed proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
In her testimony, she called for the US to take responsibility for its actions. Now, all seems to be forgotten.
The astounding hypocrisy by some US lawmakers and officials toward Pakistan was even pointed out by US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen who stated that “the level of hypocrisy in this Congress is staggering.”
Similarly, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee held to determine the causes of the US debacle in Afghanistan stated “the loss in Afghanistan was a cumulative effect of 20 years of wrong decisions and bad planning and was not caused by any single factor, such as the Taliban’s alleged sanctuary in Pakistan.” However, he also insisted on the “need to fully examine the role of Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held a meeting with the Secretary Blinken in New York on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly session. It was the first meeting held between the two top diplomats of Pakistan and the US and largely focused on Afghanistan. However, it is a point of concern that one week after the meeting, an anti-Pakistan bill was introduced in the US Senate calling to impose sanctions on Pakistan. It shows anti-Pakistan sentiment is quite high on Capitol Hill. In the middle of all this, Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote an op-ed in the Washington Times, and what was distressing to note, was that at this crucial point he chose to target his political opponents at home, rather than present the case of Pakistan to the world.
It is the need of the hour that a different strategy and narrative be formulated with regard to Pakistan’s Afghan policy, which exonerates Pakistan, and presents an accurate picture of ground realities. An out of the box solution is required while dealing with a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as they are a political reality. Pakistan should apprise the world, especially the European world, that the country has its own policy constraints, and can’t choose its neighbors. There can be grave international ramifications for Pakistan including economic sanctions if global perception turns against Pakistan and the country is seen as a Taliban facilitator in the world.
At the same time, negotiations or talks with the Afghan Taliban should be held in a cautionary manner. It must be emphasized upon the Afghan Taliban that they need to address Pakistan’s concerns regarding the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, as they have been responsible for the killing of thousands of our citizens and military officials over the years. Ambiguous statements by the Prime Minister stating that the country is willing to offer amnesty to TTP is not only insulting to the thousands of martyrs and victims of TTP terrorist attacks, but also sends a message that the Pakistani state has surrendered to them. Any decision to offer pardon to any terrorist group must first be debated in the Parliament, and both houses should be taken into confidence before announcing such controversial deals.
Pakistan is walking a tight rope. The country needs to put forward its point of view and expose America’s hypocrisy and its continued policy of using Pakistan as a scapegoat to divert attention from its own Afghan failures. For Islamabad, balance and caution are now key.
- Sehar Kamran is the President of the Centre for Pakistan and Gulf Studies (CPGS), she is a prominent politician, acadmeician and practitioner in the areas of regional, international defense and strategic studies. Twitter @SeharKamran
