WASHINGTON – A group of atleast three members of thelink> link>link>USlink> House of Representatives have urgedthe Trump administration to work with Pakistan on building bilateral andstrategic dialogues, instead of taking unilateral steps against the country.
The ranking member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism,Homeland Security and Investigations; and co-chair of the CongressionalPakistan Caucus, Sheila Jackson Lee; along with Congressmen Al Green andTom Suozzi remarked to send a strong message to the administration for itsintensified dealings with Pakistan.
The three House members maintained that the administration “should not usea hammer on an ally that has been a friend of the United States for a verylong time.” Congresswoman Lee took the lead to point out that it was in thebest interest of the link>link> link>US link>to stabilise not only Pakistan butthe region at large.
“We have a path way forward of engagement with Pakistan,” Congresswoman Leesaid adding, “We have Pakistani people who want peace, who want to fightagainst extremism, and fight against terrorism. We have an Afghan militarythat wants security along the border.” She also criticised theadministration’s move to restrict the movement of Pakistani diplomats inthe link>link> link>US link> and suggested that the two sidesneed to come to table to talk and use diplomacy to resolve issues.
She announced that the three members will also convene a meeting of theadministration officials and State Department representatives on theUS-Pakistan issues. She insisted that a unilateral policy by the Trumpadministration to ward Pakistan will not work. “It needs to be bilateral,and engagement not only with the people in Pakistan especially the civilianpopulation but also Pakistani Americans for the right kind of diplomacy.”
Congressman Suozzi said that link>link> link>US link>has concerns about the Pak-Afghanborder. “In order for us to try and resolve the problems we face inAfghanistan, we need to figure out how we align our interests with those ofPakistan, because Pakistan will always be concerned about what’s going onin Afghanistan.”
He said that Pakistan has asked link>link> link>US link>help to secure the border area fromthe Afghan side, and as a member of the Armed Services Committee hequestioned General Mattis and General Dunford about what efforts can bemade to try and secure the border from the Afghan side and into thePakistani side. “Efforts are being made to try and build a bilateralrelationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan specifically on this issue ofborder control between the two areas,” he said.
“The stick is always available,” Congressman Al Green commented referringto the Stick and Carrot policy that had been used by thelink> link>link>USlink> in the past. He suggested that it wasmuch better to engage in diplomacy with a wide range of partners, so thatall of the persons associated with endeavor can be properly aligned. Hesaid that the current administration “does not choose to align persons sothat we can make a positive progress. This is an unfortunate circumstance.”