US says shared interests with Pakistan go beyond Afghanistan

Published July 8, 2021
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US was going to ensure that Afghanistan’s neighbours played a constructive role in the country. — AFP/File
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US was going to ensure that Afghanistan’s neighbours played a constructive role in the country. — AFP/File

While the US acknowledges Pakistan as a "helpful and constructive partner" when it comes to Afghanistan, the shared interests of both the countries go well beyond that, Radio Pakistan quoted US State Department spokesperson Ned Price as saying during a press briefing on Thursday.

He added that the US and Pakistan had shared interests in peace and stability in Afghanistan, and "our collective efforts will bring some semblance of peace and security there."

However, Price said, the shared interests of the US and Pakistan went beyond Afghanistan and included broader counter-terrorism initiatives and steps for strengthening people-to-people contact.

"Pakistan is an important partner on multiple fronts," he said.

The State Department spokesperson stressed that all of Afghanistan’s neighbours needed to play a constructive role for a "durable political settlement [in the country] and a ceasefire [between the Afghan government and Taliban]."

He added that the US was going to ensure that Afghanistan’s neighbours played a constructive role in the country.

Price's remarks have come when the US pullout from Afghanistan is in final stages and the country is on the brink of civil war, descending into chaos in the face of assaults by the Taliban.

The present situation will likely lead to the redefining of Pakistan-US ties, which was evident when Prime Minister Khan categorically ruled out the possibility of Pakistan allowing US any bases and use of its territory for any sort of action inside Afghanistan.

“Absolutely not. There is no way we are going to allow any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan. Absolutely not,” the prime minister had told Axios on HBO in an interview last month.

He had stated the same in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, saying that: "We simply cannot afford this. We have already paid too heavy a price. Meanwhile, if the US, with the most powerful military machine in history, couldn’t win the war from inside Afghanistan after 20 years, how would America do it from bases in our country?"

More recently, Pakistan seemed to be further distancing itself from the US when the premier had stressed in an interview with English-language state broadcaster China Global Television Network that it was "very unfair" of the US and Western powers to "put pressure" on countries like Pakistan to choose sides and downgrade their relationship with China.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...