Pak-US cooperation imperative to stabilise Afghanistan

washington — The cooperation between Pakistan and the United States is critical to achieving stability in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said in an interview to the Washington Post, emphasizing that any confrontation at this point of time is not in the interest of either country.

“Pakistan and the US have the same objective, to stabilise situation in Afghanistan,” he said in the interview. “This can only be achieved if both the countries work together in the same direction.”

Responding to a question, the ambassador said that nearly half of the Afghanistan is unstable which was a source of concern for Pakistan, Central Asia and China, and it was not in the interest of either Pakistan or the US to drift apart at this point in time.

During an interview with Fox News, Ambassador Chaudhry stated that the message by the US leadership has not gone well with Pakistan and its people and President Donald Trump’s tweet was rather a surprise for all.

Commenting on the resulted stand-off that many foreign policy experts say would be counterproductive to the efforts for stabilising Afghanistan, Ambassador Chaudhry said that Pakistan wanted to avoid confrontation with the United States.

“The United States takes a step and then Pakistan takes another step and both the countries drift apart ... I don’t think it’s in the interest of either country,” he remarked.

In another interview to WTOP, the ambassador said that Pakistan was confused by President Trump’s tweet because both Secretary Rex Tillerson and Secretary Mattis during their visits to Pakistan carried the same message about working on a common ground with Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that WTOP is the most popular radio channel in the Washington Metro Area. — APP