NEW YORK: Amid heightened US-Pakistan tensions, a leading Americannewspaper Saturday underlined Pakistan’s strategic importance and urgedPresident Donald Trump to explore whether more “constructive cooperation”with the South Asian country was still possible.
In an editorial, The New York Times repeated US allegations aboutPakistan’s ties to some extremist groups, but regretted President Trump’s“bombast and the precipitous” way to announce his decision aid to suspendaid to Pakistan.
Not only that, the Times said there were doubts whether Trump has a seriousplan for managing the ramifications of this move.
“Almost every military flight into Afghanistan goes through Pakistaniairspace. Most supplies travel along Pakistani roads and rails,” theeditorial said.
“Pakistan can shut down American access at any moment, and some Pakistaniofficials are threatening to do just that.”
The editorial said, “Pakistan could also ally more closely with China,which is already investing in major new infrastructure projects andexpanding its international leadership at America’s expense, and be morehard-line in its rivalry with India. Indeed, China could once again be thebeneficiary of a Trump decision estranging the United States from longtimepartners.”
“But while, to some extent, Mr. Trump has a real point, he has given noassurance that he would not make matters worse.”
Pointing out that Pakistan sided with the United States in the aftermath of9/11, but then the Times claimed it played “a double game”– an accusationIslamabad denies.
“In 2014, Pakistan’s army finally mounted a serious military campaignagainst the Pakistani Taliban, which threatens the Pakistani state, andsuffered many casualties.” But, the Times said, Pakistani security servicescontinued to support the Haqqani network.
“But President Trump cannot afford to walk away from Pakistan, which hasoften provided vital intelligence and has the world’s fastest-growingnuclear arsenal,” the editorial said.
“Whether Pakistan will cooperate after the aid freeze remains to be seen.Initially, some Pakistani officials reacted harshly to the announcement,which came as a surprise, but on Friday, a Foreign Ministry statementtalked about the need for mutual respect and patience as the two countriesaddress common threats.
“Mr. Trump could marshal other diplomatic tools, to see if moreconstructive cooperation with Pakistan is possible. One idea would be toharness his new friendships with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates to shut down Haqqani and other Taliban fund-raising effortsin the Persian Gulf. “This would, of course, require quiet negotiations,not shouting,” the Times added.