ISLAMABAD: In a sharp riposte to American Vice President Mike Pence’s assertion about “putting Pakistan on notice” over alleged terrorist safe havens, the Foreign Office (FO) said the statement was inappropriate for ‘allies’ and, while alluding to Afghanistan, suggested that someone else needed to be put on notice.

According to the FO, what Mr Pence said about Pakistan at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan during an unannounced visit to the war-ravaged country was “at variance with the extensive conversations we have had with the US Administration”.

Mr Pence warned that Pakistan had for too long provided safe havens to terrorists but those days were over, as President Donald Trump had “put Pakistan on notice”.

US vice president says ‘Trump has put Pakistan on notice’

This is the harshest US warning to Pakistan since the beginning of the Afghan war more than 16 years ago and follows several recent statements indicating US indignation with Islamabad.

“For too long Pakistan has provided safe haven to the Taliban and many terrorist organisations, but those days are over,” said Mr Pence while addressing US troops at the airbase.

A transcript released by the White House said the remarks earned warm applause from the troops who were excited to see the vice president among them on a surprise Christmas visit.

However, the secrecy with which Mr Pence’s trip was conducted was in itself a tell-tale indication of how well American efforts against terrorism in Afghanistan were faring.

The vice president — unlike Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had met President Ashraf Ghani at the base — travelled to Kabul by a helicopter to see Mr Ghani and Chief Exe­cutive Abdullah Abdullah.

Pakistani officials say US criticism of Pakistan is growing because of its frustration over not being able to successfully conclude the war in Afghanistan even after 16 years.

The US vice president continued the tradition of US leaders bashing Pakistan while in Afghanistan.

He said “Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with the United States, and Pakistan has much to lose by continuing to harbour criminals and terrorists.”

Mr Pence had initiated the engagement process between Pakistan and the US when he met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in September for repairing the ties.

The engagement was aimed at exploring the prospects for cooperation in addressing each other’s concerns after President Trump announced his administration’s South Asia and Afgha­nistan policy, leaving the already stressed bilateral relationship further frayed.

Besides Mr Pence, the other senior US administration officials who interacted with Pakistan during that process included Mr Tiller­son and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

However, recent statements by President Trump, VP Pence and the National Security Strategy document reinforce the perception that the process failed to mend fences.

The FO statement reminded the US that “allies do not put each other on notice”. It further said: “On notice should be those factors responsible for exponential increase in drug production, expansion of ungoverned spaces, industrial scale corruption, breakdown of governance, and letting Daesh [the militant Islamic State group] gain a foothold in Afghanistan. Also focus should be on creating peace and reconciliation mechanisms. Finally, externalising blame should be put on notice.”

Although the statement did not name anyone, the Afghan government is quite often accused of tolerating corruption, maladministration, failure to curb militants’ activities, and blaming Pakistan for its failures.

According to the transcript provided to the media, Mr Pence also said the United States continued to support the Afghan army “more effectively with air power” and with “the extraordinary expertise of the most powerful military in the world”.

He said that President Trump had delegated more powers to the US troops in Afghanistan to send a message to the enemies of Afghanistan and the United States that “we’re here to stay until they’re defeated, until freedom wins”.

Asked if the Trump administration could send more troops to Afghanistan to achieve this target, Mr Pence said: “That will be a decision for the commander-in-chief in the days ahead.”

Anwar Iqbal in Washington contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2017