BRUSSELS: The top US military officer Marine General Joseph Dunford said onMonday he was committed to the US-Pakistan relationship, which has beenstrained in recent weeks as Washington piles pressure on Islamabad to crackdown on militants.
“Do we agree on everything right now? No we don’t. But are we committed toa more effective relationship with Pakistan? We are. And I’m not giving upon that,” Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a smallgroup of reporters during a trip to Brussels.
The United States has long blamed militant safe-havens in Pakistan forprolonging the war in neighbouring Afghanistan, giving insurgents,including from the Haqqani network, a place to plot attacks and rebuildtheir forces. Still, Pakistan is a crucial gateway for US military suppliesdestined for US and other troops fighting a 16-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump’s administration, frustratedover Pakistan’s failure to do more to combat militants, announced a plan tosuspend up to roughly $2 billion in US security assistance.
That triggered outcry in Islamabad. Pakistan’s military said its army chieftold US General Joseph Votel, head of the US military’s Central Command,that Pakistan “felt betrayed” by US criticism.
In a possible sign of efforts to improve relations, Alice Wells, principaldeputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, met withPakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Pakistan on Monday. Astatement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Wells “acknowledgedPakistan’s efforts in eradicating terrorism” and “underlined the need forstrengthening intelligence cooperation” to fight terrorism.
Dunford was careful in his public remarks but made clear that Votel wouldcontinue to lead the military-to-military discussions. Dunford said he andUS Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would also contribute to that dialogue.”I’m not going to talk about the relationship in public because I’mcommitted to try to improve the relationship and I do believe that themilitary-to-military dialogue led by General Votel, with occasionalreinforcement from Secretary Mattis, myself and others, is the rightapproach,” Dunford said.