WASHINGTON – Pakistan and the United States need to collaborate to ensurepeaceful democratic transition in Afghanistan, and the Trump administrationneeds to include non-security considerations in to its South Asia strategyas beefing up fight on the battlefield will not make terrorism go away,security and foreign policy analysts said.
In their separate articles for the online magazine The Hill, MichaelKugelman, deputy director of the Asia program and senior associates forSouth Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and Shazar Shafqat, acounterterrorism and security analyst, pointed out the escalation inviolence in recent weeks that posed deep threat to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has seen a renewed phase of violence in recent weeks withTaliban militants and ISIS forces wreaking havoc in the war-torn country.More than 130 people were killed in three terrorist attacks claimed byTaliban in addition to attacks carried on by ISIS.
The analysts argued for the need to include political considerations intoAmerica’s security-alone approach and the collaboration between Pakistanand the United States, the two old estranged allies which saw theirbilateral ties plummeted to a new low after the US State Departmentwithheld security assistance to the South Asian country in the forefront ofglobal war on terrorism.
“Despite any rhetoric to the contrary, United States and Pakistan need tocollaborate with each other to ensure peaceful democratic transition inAfghanistan,” wrote Mr. Shafqat, underscoring the facts on the ground thatnecessitate for the two countries to cooperate for a common goal offighting terrorism.
“Just as China might not be able to fill the gap if Pakistan chooses tocompletely distance itself from the United States, the Trump administrationshould also understand the fact that alienating Pakistan doesn’t help itscause in Afghanistan,” he said. “That might sound like a non-starter tosome of the analysts in Washington, but that’s how things work in theobscure geostrategic and geopolitical arena of South Asia.”
Talking about the current status of relationship between Pakistan and theUnited States, Mr. Safqat noted that the ties “isn’t the lowest it has everbeen”, referring to the attack that killed Osama bin Laden and the NATO airstrike incident at Salala that killed Pakistani soldiers.
For Mr. Kugelman, the Trump administration has largely focused on securitymeasures in its new South Asia strategy that included additional troops inAfghanistan and ramping up the battlefield operations which are unlikely toachieve the desired end.
“Without incorporating non-security considerations into Washington’s policytoolkit, those means will be insufficient and the ends unachievable.Failing to make these policy adjustments all but ensures that therelentless and resilient Taliban and ISIS will continue to inflict violenceon a nation that has suffered far too much of it, and for far too long.”
Mr. Kugelman observed that the US cannot eliminate terrorism by militaryforces and needs to include diplomatic and economic components that helpaddress dysfunction within the Afghan government and ease tensions withregional players.
Alluding to the escalating violence and militants gaining ground, analystsnoted that Taliban controls or contests 40-50 percent of Afghanistan’snearly 400 districts, which is more territory than at any time since USforces invaded the country. Mr. Kugelman also argued there were variety offactors that contributing to strengthening Taliban and it would be amistake to assume that the alleged “Pakistani sanctuaries” alone wereresponsible for the Taliban’s strength. – APP