- General Votel points out India’s anti-Pakistan policies; ‘Pakistan, US work together in pursuit of shared interests’
US Central Command (CETCOM) Commander General Joseph Votel, in a testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that conventional conflict between Pakistan and India could escalate into a nuclear exchange.
“By seeking to ‘isolate’ Pakistan, India is creating an obstruction to the development of communication between the two countries,” he said, adding that the Indian policy was causing further deterioration in relations between the two neighbours. Furthermore, India’s public policy to ‘diplomatically isolate’ Pakistan hinders any prospects for improved relations, he said.
“This is especially troubling as a significant conventional conflict between Pakistan and India could escalate into a nuclear exchange, given that both are nuclear powers,” he said. “India remains concerned about the lack of action against ‘India-focused militants’ and even responded militarily to terrorist attacks in India-held territory (of disputed state of Jammu Kashmir) earlier this year,” General Votel told American senators.
“(These types of) attacks and potential reactions increase the likelihood for any miscalculation by both the countries,” he said. Additionally, the American general said that the need for an increased focus on Pakistan’s eastern border detracts from its efforts to secure the western border with Afghanistan from incursion by fighters. “Security along the western border will nevertheless remain a priority for Islamabad, as the Pakistani military seeks to expand border control and improve paramilitary security,” he said.
The American commander lauded promising coordination between the Pak-Afghan militaries, saying the US government was encouraged by the Radd-ul-Fasaad military operation in which they set up simultaneous multiple blocking positions along the border. He maintained that the US-Pakistan relationship remains a very important one.
“We look forward to continuing our engagement with the Pakistan’s military leadership, to include Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa in the days ahead as we work together in pursuit of shared interests,” he said. He also said that he anticipates more US forces being sent to Afghanistan to break what he and others say is a stalemate in the more-than-15-year-old war there.
“We are developing a strategy, and we are in discussions with the secretary and the department right now,” he told the committee. “I do believe it will involve additional forces to ensure that we can make the advise-and-assist mission more effective.” His comments come about a month after the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Nicholson, told the committee he has a shortfall of a few thousand troops in the mission. Right now, there are about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan on a dual mission of training, advising and assisting Afghan forces in their fight against the militants and conducting counterterrorism missions against groups.
The train, advise and assist mission is a NATO mission, and Nicholson had said the few thousand troops he is short could come from either the US or NATO countries. But it’s not expected that NATO countries would contribute more troops without a US commitment to do the same. General Votel said that the additional troops could be used to improve the capabilities of the Afghan air force and special operations forces.
