WASHINGTON, Jan 13: The US should focus on a policy that looks at the long-term stability of the region and Pakistan’s security imperatives, a former American general said on Sunday.

Stanley McChrystal, who commanded the US forces in Afghanistan until 2010, said a stable Afghanistan was important to Pakistan.

“My question on the future would be what do we want in the region? This is not just a case of Al Qaeda was in Afghanistan and now they largely are not. It is a question of the future of the region, the future of Afghan people but also the stability in the region,” the ex-general told CBS in ‘Face the Nation’ programme.

Mr McChrystal said that in the event of an ungoverned area in Afghanistan or a Taliban state, Pakistan’s very stability, now with the Pakistani insurgency strong, would “really be threatened and nuclear armed Pakistan in a threatened position would be a real challenge.”

Asked about the US policy towards Pakistan, he said: “What makes Pakistan act the way they do, their relationship with India, the issue over places like Kashmir, what motivates their thinking, what is the direction of Pakistani actions. Part of that is impacted by what we do in the future in Afghanistan. I believe a stable Afghanistan is important to Pakistan I think it is important to the region.”—APP