Advocating Pakistan’s importance as a vital partner for regional security, Commander of the United States (US) Central Command urged Capitol Hill on continued military support for the country.
Appearing in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General James N Mattis told lawmakers that the US has a vested interest in Pakistan’s sustainability as a nation.
He also informed the panel that since Pakistan’s reopening of its supply routes in July 2012, the relations between the two countries have been progressing on an upward trajectory.
Senator Car Levin, chairman of the panel, had called the hearing to review the US Administration’s Defense Authorisation Request for Fiscal Year 2014, which covers assistance for several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“The United States has a vested interest in Pakistan’s sustainability as a nation and despite challenges in the US-Pakistan relationship; they are an important regional partner that has sacrificed greatly in the war on terror. They must play a constructive role if Afghanistan is to achieve long-term stability,” Gen Mattis said.
In Pakistan, there is a confluence of issues that challenge the Pakistan government and the US ability to provide assistance.
“The political and security environment in Pakistan is impacted by terrorist attacks and ethno-sectarianism and a civilian government with tenuous control in parts of the country, radicalisation of segments of the population, overstretched military, strained relationships with neighbours, and dealing with frequent natural disasters,” he said.
“Pakistan maintained the closure of the US/ISAF ground lines of communication (GLOC) to Afghanistan in response to the tragic November 2011 incident at Salala. The relationship has steadily improved since the GLOC reopened in July 2012 when we resumed security cooperation with Pakistan’s Army and concluded an agreement that permits two-way flow on the GLOC,” Gen Mattis remarked.
The Centcom chief, whose area of responsibility also includes the Middle East and Central Asia, cited conclusion of a tripartite US-Pakistan-Afghanistan agreement to “facilitate better coordination and complementary operations on both sides of the border that disrupt the enemies’ freedom of movement and help prevent another fratricide incident.”
Gen Mattis acknowledged that Pakistan Army has gradually started taking control of the country’s tribal areas.
He said, “It is the most difficult terrain I’ve ever operated in along that border region. So this is not easy. The enemy is well-dug in. They’re hard to get at. Pakistan military is moving against them. And we’ll just have to try and keep the collaboration along the border continuing on the trajectory it’s on now if we’re going to (have) success.”
Mattis recognised there was a two-way “trust deficit” between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“There’s dissatisfaction that has been articulated by the Afghans about the havens on the Pakistan side of the border. Of course, some of these terrorists use the Afghan side of the border to attack Pakistan. So they both recognise they have to work together,” he said.
Afghanistan-Pakistan relations are imperfect right now, he said. “There are concerns that I don’t want to wish away or dismiss. But at least it’s going in the right direction. I think NATO is a big facilitator-getting the Pakistani and Afghan officers to talk together, to work together,” he added.
Apprising the panel on developments in US-Pakistan military-to-military relations, Gen Mattis said in December, the two countries held the first high-level bilateral Defense Consultative Group in more than 18 months.
“We resumed strategic-level talks and committed to implement a framework for defense cooperation that promotes peace and stability within the region, based on areas of converging interests and principles of mutual respect and transparency. Subsequently, we have held operational level talks, including through the recent Defense Resourcing Conference and Military Consultative Committee, which focused on synchronisation of our efforts to build Pakistan’s capabilities to achieve our common objectives,” said Mattis.
He argued that continued support for Foreign Military Financing, International Military Education and Training, and the Coalition Support Fund will “provide the necessary tools to keep our military-to-military relationship on a solid footing.”
