Af-Pak policy redux

On August 21, 2017 President Donald Trump gave the first televised speech of his presidency. The speech focused on US policy towards Pakistan and its efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.In his speech, the American president squarely blamed Pakistan for the lack of resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan. He asked India to play a more active role in Afghanistan while urging Pakistan to “demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order and peace”.One doesn’t have to be an expert in South Asian geopolitics to see how thoroughly counterproductive this approach by the US president would be. He surely must have managed to rankle feathers in Islamabad while conveniently ignoring the history of past three decades in the region. If the goal were to engage Pakistan in helping resolve the simmering conflict in Afghanistan, nothing would be more tone deaf than to insult the country and encourage greater engagement by India, which of course is continuing to look for a stronger foothold in Afghanistan.President Trump followed this speech with his first tweet of 2018 – sent some time in the early hours of January 1. Once again, he blamed Pakistan for the quagmire in Afghanistan, the longest running war in US history, now entering its 18th year.The sad fact is that there appears to be little effort on the part of the US government to understand the concerns and interests of Pakistan in the region. Quite simply, Pakistan cannot allow a government to emerge in Kabul that is hostile towards Pakistan and allows its territory to be used to destabilise the country.Whether or not Pakistan is overly sensitive about these concerns could be a matter of debate. The same is true for what role has been played historically by the different players in the region, as a result of which are at this point. Debating these will not get us anywhere closer to a resolution.Given this backdrop, it was interesting to read in the media that President Trump has recently written to PM Imran Khan, asking for his assistance in bringing an end to the war in Afghanistan. Is this the beginning of a dialogue between the US and Pakistan to better understand each other’s interests or yet another attempt to lay blame at Pakistan’s feet? We will find out in due course of time.The appointment of Afghan-American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad to head up the US effort in this regard does not bode well. Khalilzad has been part of every failed US policy in Afghanistan – from propping up extremists to fight the Soviets in the 1980s to the more recent blaming of everything on Pakistan, and all the while, remaining silent about Pakistan’s needs and interests in the region. After all, to this day Afghan governments have refused to accept the international border between the two countries as an internationally recognised boundary.For the sake of the long-suffering peoples of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, one can only hope Pakistan will be able to communicate clearly to the Trump administration what Pakistan’s interests and concerns are in the region. Of course, that would require a US administration that is more receptive to listening.The writer is a Pakistani-American based inWashington D C. He is the author of ‘When Tribesmen Came Calling: Building an Enduring AmericanBusiness in Pakistan.Website: www.sqshareef.com/ blogs

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