US think tank seeks tough policy against Pakistan

Praising President Ashraf Ghani for not being averse in taking risk to bring peace in the country, a top American think-tank on Wednesday called for adopting taking a tough approach against Pakistan, which continues to have safe haven for terrorists.

Overcoming decades of violence in a poor country, even with considerable outside assistance, is a task not easily achieved, Atlantic Council think-tank said in a report authored by several eminent Americans including David Petraeus, former CIA Director; James Cunningham, the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan Ambassador to US.

Success in implementing the Trump administration’s strategy, and President Ghani’s vision of peace via reconciliation with the Taliban, will validate the many sacrifices Afghans, Americans, and the international community have made, said the report which reviews the one year of the implementation of the South Asia Strategy announced by President Donald Trump in August 2017.

“It will make Pakistan and the region more secure and prosperous, enable the withdrawal of foreign military forces, and—with continued counterterrorism cooperation with Kabul and improved cooperation with Pakistan—mark a significant advance in the struggle against Islamist terror. That is an outcome deserving of continued long-term US and international engagement, and the support of those publics,” the report said.

Among other authors of the report are Bharat Gopalaswamy, from Atlantic Council, eminent Indian American expert Ashley Tellis, Congress leader Manish Tewari and Anita McBride from the American University.

“President Ashraf Ghani has made clear that he is willing to take risks for peace. His government has also demonstrated its determination to defend the country, at great cost,” the report said.

For years, the United States’ Afghan partners have taken the lead in the conflict, and done the vast majority of the fighting and dying. Continued US funding for the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) is critical, as is the longterm international support demonstrated at the recent Brussels NATO Summit, it said.

The Atlantic Council sough a tough approach against Pakistan. “If Pakistan will not play a positive role, the United States and its partners should pursue a tough-minded strategy. The discussion with Pakistan must not be delayed, especially following the recent change in elected leadership and given the preponderance of influence of the military leadership in Pakistan’s regional policies, including in Afghanistan,” it said.

Pakistan, it said, has the most important external impact on prospects for success of Trump’s South Asia policy. “It is widely recognized that the existence of safe havens in Pakistan makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get the Taliban leadership to seriously negotiate,” it said.

“While Pakistan has suffered grievously from terrorism, and sacrificed much in combating it internally, efforts to convince it to take needed action against the Taliban and Haqqani network within Pakistan’s borders, and to partner with the United States, have not yet born fruit,” said the report.

Noting that it is beyond the scope of this report to address how to deal with Pakistan in detail, the think-tank said but a constant review of messaging to Pakistan is needed, as is the elaboration of a multilateral campaign of pressure and incentives—for example, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray listing of Pakistan, and the June US killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

A redefinition of Pakistani interests is also needed, it said.

“The United States still seeks a healthy relationship with Pakistan, but it and its international partners, who have an important stake in this discussion, must confront Pakistani leaders with a choice about the future of their country that prevents a continuation of the status quo,” the report said.

“In response to pressure from the Trump administration, some Pakistani officials have blustered that Pakistan can rely on China and Russia. That is an illusion inimical to Pakistan’s development and economic future, a framework that falls far short of the active, engaged economic-development and counterterrorism relationship that the West that can offer—or withhold,” it said.