WASHINGTON: Pakistan has allowed the US military to use its airspace andgiven ground access so that it can support its presence in Afghanistan,according to a Pentagon official.
David F. Helvey, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Affairs,told the US Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the UnitedStates would continue its conversation with Pakistan because it had acritical role in restoring peace to Afghanistan.
The official was replying to a question from Senator Joe Manchin, a WestVirginia Democrat, who asked him to “outline your assessment of Pakistan,and particularly of Pakistani intelligence agencies, and the role youexpect them to play in our future”.
“Pakistan has played an important role in Afghanistan. They supported theAfghan peace process. Pakistan also has allowed us to have overflight andaccess to be able to support our military presence in Afghanistan,” MrHelvey said.
“We will continue our conversations with Pakistan because their support andcontribution to the future of Afghanistan, to future peace in Afghanistan,is going to be critical,” he added.
Diplomatic sources in Washington told *Dawn* that Pakistan had alwaysallowed overflights and ground access to the US to facilitate its militarypresence in Afghanistan and would continue to do so.
Earlier in the hearing, Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican,asked the Pentagon official what type of manned or unmanned capabilitiesthe US would need in the region to prevent “terrorists from returning toAfghanistan”.
“Things we cannot have in Afghanistan,” such as overflights, Mr Helvey. Hesaid that there were other assets that were not available in the region andthe US has the capability to bring them into the region “on a regularbasis”.
Senator Manchin reminded him that with really no assets on the ground,Washington will have to rely on its regional partners to work with the US.“Are you confident of our regional partners and their capacity andcommitment to drive terrorists out of the region?” he asked.
“We will have to work with our local and regional partners, and we want tocontinue developing those capabilities and those partnerships to be able toensure that we have the right of framework to address the threats.”
The US Defence Department, he said, was “working today” with itsinter-agency colleagues on the right type of arrangements, relationshipsand frameworks to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a haven forterrorism.
Last month, President Joe Biden announced his plan to withdraw all US andNato troops from Afghanistan by Sept 11 this year. The announcementfollowed a landmark
US-Taliban deal in Doha on Feb 29 last year to end the Afghan war and bringUS troops home after America’s longest war.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told lawmakers in NewYork that Pakistan was seeking a broad-based, strategic partnership withAmerica, which would also cover Afghanistan.
Mr Qureshi stressed the need for “a broad-based strategic partnership” thatlooks after the interests of both countries, said a statement.
The foreign minister’s meeting with the lawmakers followed a congressionalhearing on Afghanistan in Washington last week.
During the hearing, several lawmakers and America’s chief negotiator forAfghanistan, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, underlined Pakistan’s role in theAfghan peace process and expressed the desire to enhance bilateral ties.
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