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WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (PTI) — A group of US experts has called for “pragmatic engagement” with Pakistan, saying the US government had high hopes for their alliance, only to be “disappointed and frustrated”.
Coinciding with the visit of Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Kamal Javid Bajwa to Pakistan, the Pakistan study team addressed the country’s response to the Afghan Taliban insurgency in a report titled “US Re-engagement with Pakistan: Ideas for Restoring Important Relations” covert support for jihadist groups targeting Kashmir, embrace China closely and expand its nuclear arsenal.
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At the same time, experts advise against ignoring or trying to isolate Pakistan because of its population size, geographic location and possession of nuclear weapons.
The report advocates for a “moderately pragmatic” relationship between the two countries, while accepting the fact that the two countries are at odds over India, China and Afghanistan.
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The U.S. government, which returned to President Eisenhower’s side, had high hopes for their alliance, only to be “disappointed and frustrated,” the report said.
It also said the US would not be able to change Pakistan’s “strategic considerations”. But the report recommends that the two countries “develop a pragmatic framework for engagement” rather than relying on inducements or threats to encourage greater cooperation.
According to a media release, the report lays out the long-standing “US criticism of Pakistan” that “Pakistan has pursued its own agenda, which often conflicts with US interests,” but that Pakistan has “repeatedly sought US funding and weapons, but not keeping their promises.”
U.S. policymakers need to move beyond the mere idea of large amounts of aid or coercion as a policy tool in dealing with Pakistan, the report said.
It also warned Pakistani leaders, saying they too need to move beyond the illusions that are vital to the United States, so U.S. policymakers will always have Pakistan in their sights.
“The Pakistani leadership also needs to accept that all of Pakistan’s problems, especially terrorism and militancy, cannot be placed on the doorstep of the United States,” it said.
With regard to security cooperation, the report said, “The United States has long suspected Pakistan’s commitment to take action against militant extremist groups operating on its soil, particularly those focused on India and Afghanistan.”
Referring to Pakistan’s presence on the UN Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list, it said, “While Pakistan is likely to eventually be removed from the list, some oversight from the US and the international community will continue to be subject to the need to ensure that Pakistan complies with the requirements of the FATF.”
The report noted that Pakistan “continues to view its relationship with India as a zero-sum game” and that “the more US stocks in India, the more Pakistan is concerned”.
In addition, the report’s authors say that while the United States should be clear that it does not see its role as a facilitator in Kashmir, it needs to remain engaged because “a major terrorist attack in India is blamed on Pakistani militants or some other type of contingencies. events that could lead to a wider conflict with the potential to escalate to the use of nuclear weapons.”
Pakistan “has a long history of curbing dissent, hindering the work of civil society organizations and suppressing media freedom. Unfortunately, this has only gotten worse in recent years,” the report said.
It called on the United States to “continue to support Pakistan’s civil society, media and journalism, academia and policy community. According to the report, Pakistan needs to safeguard the rights of its citizens and protect the rights of its minorities.
“The United States needs to pay close attention to domestic and global terrorist groups, and Pakistan needs to reduce its selective response to the threat posed by its militant extremist groups,” the report said.
It also suggested that the United States must continue its efforts, including in multilateral forums, to remind Pakistan of the need to fight terrorist groups and individuals on its soil.
“Pakistan has long maintained that terrorist groups such as JAM or Lashkar are too powerful and pervasive for military establishments to challenge easily and that it will take time to deal with them,” the report said.
It added that the U.S. should be behind the scenes, in a subtle way, to pressure Pakistan to continue targeting the groups within its borders. “Gulf Arab states must also be encouraged to pressure Pakistan to change its course,” the report said.
The report’s authors include Ryan Crocker and Cameron Mount, former U.S. ambassadors to Pakistan; Robin Raphael, former Assistant Secretary of State; Kamran Bokhari, Director of Analytical Development, New Line Institute for Strategy and Policy; Toby Dalton, Calif. Co-Director and Senior Fellow of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Negie Endowment for International Peace.
Additional authors include Hussein Haqqani, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States and Director of South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute; Elizabeth Threlkeld, Director of the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center; Dr. Harlan K Ullman, Senior Advisor, Atlantic Council; Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Institute Resident Scholar; Uzair Younus, Director, Pakistan Initiative, Atlantic Council.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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