New US Afghan policy may push Pakistan towards China, Russia

islamabad — Pakistan is bracing for a “tough time” and may have to seek even “deeper” ties with China and Russia to offset any fallout from the Trump administration’s new Afghan strategy, according to a media report here on Monday.

Trump is set to announce the much-awaited new strategy for war-torn Aghanistan.

Reports have said the Trump administration looked into possibilities of a role for India during its policy review and US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday confirmed that the new policy was a full “South Asia strategy.” In a report, The Express Tribune quoted at least two “senior officials familiar with the plan” that Pakistan was contemplating various options to offset any fallout from the new Afghan strategy.

The report said officials in Pakistan admitted that given the signals coming from Washington, Islamabad’s patience would certainly be tested in the coming months.

In the event of any extreme US measures, one official told the daily, Pakistan would be left with “no option but to seek even deeper and enhanced cooperation” with China and Russia. Pakistan and China share an “all weather ties”. Leaders of the two countries have called the relationship as that of “iron brothers”. Their cooperation has moved upwards after Beijing announced the ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative a few years ago.

A part of the ambitious initiative, the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is being built in Pakistan making some of the neighbouring countries nervous.

Pakistan’s ties with Russia also appeared to have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities, the report said. — PTI