KARACHI – Former US ambassador Richard Olson has said that Pakistan has gotan opportunity to reset ties with US.

He said that there has been a divergence in Pakistan-US relationship since2015 because of Islamabad’s alleged support for the Afghan Taliban and itsnuclear policy.

The two countries want to see a political reconciliation between the AfghanTaliban and Kabul government, Richard Olson, who was US envoy to Pakistanfrom 2012 to 2015, told the Voice of America Urdu Service in a FacebookLive interview.

“This is an opportunity for Pakistan to rejuvenate ties with Washington byacting as a mediator in the Afghan political reconciliation process,” saidOlson who retired in 2016 after his last assignment as US special envoy toPakistan and Afghanistan.

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“I think Pakistan needs a ‘do-less policy’ instead of a ‘do-more’ one, whenit comes to supporting the Afghan Taliban.”[image: 02]

Olson said that US President Donald Trump administration’s policy ofpushing Pakistan to do more is not helpful for both sides. “I think the newgovernment in Islamabad has changed in the sense that it has strategicallyaligned itself with China,” he added.

Olson said that Pakistan’s relationship with Beijing would be a keyinfluencer in the Pak-US ties, adding that “in the future the US and Chinawill be the main competitors on the global stage.”

“I think China also wants to see peace in Afghanistan and they would likethem to be a part of its Silk Road Economic Belt initiative,” said theformer diplomat.