ISLAMABAD - Following years of an acrimonious blame game, the Pakistan and U.S. militaries appear to be engaged again in tactical counterterrorism cooperation for promoting a negotiated settlement to the war in Afghanistan.
American and Pakistani military officials have acknowledged the positive trend in mutual ties, with both sides underscoring the need for continued engagements.
“Pakistan looks forward to peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been doing its bit in this regard with other stakeholders,” army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor told VOA on Friday.
Ghafoor was responding to comments made by a top American general on Thursday that cooperation from Pakistan “remains key to accomplishing the overall objective of a durable political settlement in Afghanistan."
The Pakistani army spokesman made a further assertion. “The military-to-military engagement is likely to yield more positive results within the overall framework of stakeholders.”
Speaking in Washington a day prior, General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told reporters in Washington he has maintained a “very robust relationship” with Pakistan’s military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He emphasized that other U.S. officials also have been communicating to counterparts in Islamabad and “it is important to talk."
“We continue to work closely with Pakistan to help them fulfill the important role that they have indicated they want to play. Now is the time for them to step forward,” the U.S. general said.
President Donald Trump, under his new South Asia strategy announced last August, has suspended military assistance to Pakistan until it takes decisive action against terrorists involved in attacks in Afghanistan and other regional countries. That move strained mutual ties and halted diplomatic contacts until weeks ago when Washington restored the high-level contacts with Islamabad.
Taliban 'safe havens'
U.S. and Afghan officials have long alleged that Taliban leaders and those of the Haqqani network are directing the Afghan insurgency from "safe havens" in Pakistan.
“We've made progress on paper, but we want action. I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani remarked earlier this week when asked for his assessment of the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan. (VoA)