U.S. relationship with Pakistan is critical to achieving the goal of a stable Afghanistan, and the Trump Administration should pursue a cooperative approach to that end, a Pakistani American leader said.
Mossadaq Chughtai, who founded Pakistani American Leadership Center, argues that only a mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Pakistan can help stabilize Afghanistan.
“I cannot think of any other scenario that can help bring peace and security to Afghanistan,” Mr. Chughtai said in an interview
Mr. Chughtai, who is a prominent business leader in Washington area, said the recently announced U.S. policy does not take into account Pakistan’s security concerns.
“American interests in the region will be best served if it is a productive partnership for both countries as the U.S. and Pakistan have contributed the most to defeating al-Qaeda and other militants in the region.”
Calling for a change in the U.S. policy, he said, the continuing stalemate in Afghanistan and the rise of terror threats would be a “disservice to memory of Americans who have sacrificed for protection of our homeland against terrorist threats.”
“Similarly, we should recognize Pakistan’s sacrifices both in human and economic terms, and help it overcome challenges that extremism.”
He said there have been ups and downs in the U.S.-Pakistan relations but still Pakistan has been the only ally which has worked closely with the United States over the past several decades.
President Donald Trump should address Pakistan’s security concerns as it will help the regional stability, Mr. Chughtai said.
“It is hard for me to conceive that any other country could be as strong a partner as Pakistan could be – in coMrntrast Afghanistan and India have very different track records.”
Mr. Chughtai, who has been speaking on the Capitol Hill and interacts with policymakers in both the United States and Pakistan, also feels that Islamabad has been unable to describe to the international media its role in the fight against terror.
For example, it has defeated militants including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in several large operations and lost thousands of lives to terror attacks since 9/11 attacks but the world does not know enough about its efforts, he noted.
“We need to step up our diplomacy and media outreach to inform the world about our sacrifices and key counter-terrorism efforts in the tribal areas and along the Afghan border.”
