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Pakistan has announced that it will take an independent decision in line with its interests on recognising the Taliban government in a major policy statement rejecting the US demand asking Islamabad not to give legitimacy to Afghanistan’s new rulers unless they meet international demands.
“There is no pressure, and we do not take any pressure. We will take independent decisions in line with our interests,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said on Thursday while responding to a question about whether Pakistan was under US pressure not to recognise the Taliban government.
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Testifying before the US Congress, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Pakistan to deny legitimacy to the Afghan Taliban unless they meet international demands.
“So Pakistan needs to line up with a broad majority of the international community in working towards those ends and in upholding those expectations,” Blinken said. But the Foreign Office spokesperson’s statement appears to reject the demand.
Pakistan has been urging the international community to adopt a pragmatic approach, saying the Afghan Taliban are the “new reality” and hence it is time to work with them.
Speaking at a weekly news briefing, the FO spokesperson also said Pakistan was surprised by the comments made by the US lawmakers and Secretary Blinken about its role in Afghanistan, insisting the critical remarks were not in line with close cooperation between Islamabad and Washington.
Asked by lawmakers if it is time for Washington to reassess its relationship with Pakistan, Blinken said the administration would soon be doing that.
“This is one of the things we’re going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead – the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that," he said while testifying before the US Congress on Afghanistan.
Blinken also endorsed comments by certain American lawmakers, who questioned the role of Pakistan. "It is one that is involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harbouring members of the Taliban … It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism," Blinken said referring to Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.
Also read: Blinken says US will assess Pakistan ties over Afghanistan’s future
But FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar during the briefing rejected the characterisation of Pakistan’s role.
“We have noted that the comments were not in line with the close cooperation between Pakistan and the United States,” the FO spokesperson told reporters. “This was surprising as Pakistan’s positive role in the Afghan peace process, recent facilitation of the multinational evacuation effort from Afghanistan, and continued support for an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan have been duly acknowledged, including most recently by the US State Department spokesperson in his briefing of 15 September 2021,” he added.
Responding to the criticism, the spokesperson listed a number of actions Pakistan undertook to help the US in the fight against terrorism.
“Pakistan had played a critical role in helping the United States degrade al Qaeda’s core leadership in Afghanistan, which was the international coalition’s core objective. At the same time, Pakistan had always maintained that there was no military solution to the larger Afghan conflict and that a political settlement offered the only plausible pathway to sustainable peace in Afghanistan – a position now shared by the United States,” the spokesperson added.
On Afghanistan, the spokesperson said achieving an inclusive political settlement in the war-torn country that represents Afghanistan’s diversity and reflects the gains made by the country remains a shared objective for Pakistan and the US.
“We look forward to building on this convergence while also strengthening other aspects of a broad-based and constructive relationship,” he said.
Also read: Mullah Baradar, Anas Haqqani dispel rumours of Taliban rifts
Observers believe that the US may disengage with Pakistan despite earlier promises that it would not abandon the country once its job was done in Afghanistan.
The lack of US interest to reset ties with Pakistan can be judged from the fact that President Joe Biden has not yet telephoned Prime Minister Imran Khan. In an interview, PM Imran said Biden might be a busy man and hence he had not yet reached out to him.
But the lack of contact at the civil leadership level is indicative of the US administration’s future policy towards Pakistan.
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