After US-Pakistan relations had tensed further following President Donald Trump announcement of new South Asia policy and outburst against Pakistan for not much against terrorists despite being given billions of dollars, US Secretary Rex Tillerson only few days back had visited Afghanistan, Pakistan and India carrying somewhat strong worded message from President Trump for Islamabad making the sharp difference in the treatment of supposedly old ally and strategic partner very much clear emphatically.
Now, according to the reports in the media, State Department spokesperson Heather Neuert, who had accompanied the Secretary during visit to the three countries, has come out with a statement and I quote “If you (Pakistan) decide you don’t want to do it (acting terrorist groups based in it), just let us know. We’ll adjust our plans accordingly and we’ll deal with it ourselves”.
I am sure many would have laughed as well as felt concerned over this statement like this scribe wondering as to what the US and its President want to do in Afghanistan now to achieve what US-led NATO forces have not been able to achieve all these years.
In fact, Washington bosses are very much worried (though not admitting this) over increasing tilt of hitherto-obedient Islamabad towards Beijing and Moscow as part of its independent balanced foreign policy instead of reliance on the so-called world human rights champion who is quite deplorably keeping eyes tightly closed over gross human rights violations in held Kashmir and continued ceasefire line violations of the Line 0f Control (LoC) killing innocent civilians every day by India. Thanks.
ZAHID RIFAT
Lahore
