'Unwarranted' references to Pakistan in US Senate bill inconsistent with spirit of cooperation: FO

Published September 29, 2021
In this file photo, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad addresses a press conference in Islamabad. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan/File
In this file photo, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad addresses a press conference in Islamabad. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan/File

Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said on Wednesday that "unwarranted" references to Pakistan in a bill that was recently introduced in the United States Senate was "inconsistent" with the spirit of cooperation that had existed between the two countries on Afghanistan since 2001.

"We see that a debate is under way in Washington both in the media and on Capitol Hill to reflect on and examine the circumstances leading to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The draft legislation introduced in the US Senate by a group of Senate Republicans seems to be a reaction to this debate," he said in a statement.

However, the references to Pakistan in the bill were "completely unwarranted", he said. Terming those references as "inconsistent in spirit" with Pak-US cooperation on Afghanistan since the American invasion in 2001, he recalled that Pakistan had facilitated the Afghan peace process and helped evacuate citizens of the US and other countries from Afghanistan in August.

Ahmad reiterated that Pakistan had always maintained that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. It had also stressed that a coercive approach would not work and the only way to achieve sustainable peace in the war-torn country was through engagement and dialogue, he added.

He noted that sustained security cooperation between Pakistan and the US would "remain critical in dealing with any future terrorist threat in the region".

"Such proposed legislative measures are, therefore, uncalled for and counterproductive," the spokesperson said.

Read: 'Convenient scapegoat': PM Imran says Pakistan should not be blamed for Afghan war's outcome

Assessment of Pakistan's role

Twenty-two US senators moved a bill in the Senate on Monday that seeks to assess Pakistan's alleged role in Afghanistan before and after the fall of Kabul and in the Taliban offensive in Panjshir Valley.

Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and other Republicans introduced the Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act to address outstanding issues related to the Biden administration's "rushed and disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan".

The proposed legislation calls for a comprehensive report on who supported the Taliban during America's 20 years in Afghanistan, helped the group in capturing Kabul in mid-August and supported their offensive on Panjshir Valley.

The first report shall include "an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the Taliban between 2001 and 2020", including the provision of sanctuary space, financial support, intelligence support, logistics and medical support, training, equipping, and tactical, operation or strategic direction, according to the bill.

The legislation also requires "an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the September 2021 offensive of the Taliban against the Panjshir Valley and the Afghan resistance".

Read: 'It's preposterous': NSA dismisses claims of Pakistan supporting Taliban in Panjshir

The proposed bill also seeks to impose sanctions on the Taliban and others in Afghanistan for terrorism, drug-trafficking, and human rights abuses, as well as on those providing support to the Taliban, including foreign governments.

It states that the US should not recognise any member of the Taliban as the ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States or as the ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Nations, and places restrictions on non-humanitarian foreign assistance to the war-torn country.

It also calls for a comprehensive review of foreign assistance to entities that support the Taliban.

Opinion

Editorial

General malfeasance
Updated 12 Dec, 2024

General malfeasance

Will Gen Faiz Hameed's trial prove to be a long overdue comeuppance or just another smokescreen?
Electricity rates
12 Dec, 2024

Electricity rates

THE government is renegotiating power purchase agreements with private power producers to slash their capacity...
Aggression in Syria
12 Dec, 2024

Aggression in Syria

TAKING advantage of the chaos in post-Assad Syria, Israel has proceeded to grab more of the Arab state’s land,...
Madressah politics
Updated 11 Dec, 2024

Madressah politics

The curriculum taught must be free of hate and prejudice, while madressah students need to be taught life skills to later contribute to economy.
Targeting travellers
11 Dec, 2024

Targeting travellers

THE country’s top tax authority seems to have run out of good ideas. According to news reports, the Federal Board...
Grieving elephants
11 Dec, 2024

Grieving elephants

FOR most, the news will perhaps not even register. Another elephant has died in captivity in Pakistan. The death is...