ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Wednes­day reminded the US of the importance of continued security cooperation with Pakistan and said a legislation introduced in the US Senate for sanctioning Afghan Taliban and their foreign backers was detrimental to bilateral relations

“Sustained security cooperation between Pakistan and the United States would remain critical in dealing with any future terrorist threat in the region. Such proposed legislative measures are, therefore, uncalled for and counterproductive,” the FO said in a statement on the bill introduced by 22 Republican senators.

The proposed legislation seeks a report from the Secretary of State about Pakistan’s alleged involvement with Taliban from 2001 to 2020 leading to its takeover of Afghanistan and suspected support for Taliban’s offensive in Panjshir Valley against the resistance fighters. The bill calls for imposing sanctions on Taliban and the foreign governments that helped the militant group topple the Ghani administration.

The FO rejected the references to Pakistan as “completely unwarranted”.

“We find all such references inconsistent with the spirit of Pakistan-US cooperation on Afghanistan since 2001, including facilitation of the Afghan peace process and during the recent evacuations of American and other nationals from Afghanistan,” the FO said.

The legislation, it noted, had been introduced in reaction to debate in the US on the circumstances leading to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The FO, therefore, reminded US leaders of Pakistan’s long-held stance that the solution to the protracted Afghan conflict was through a political settlement and not by military means.

It went on to advise that “a coercive approach” would not work in future as well. “The only way to achieve long-term sustainable peace in Afghanistan is through engagement and dialogue,” it said and reiterated the call for engaging Taliban instead of isolating them.

Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari in her reaction on Twitter said Pakistan was being “scapegoated” by US for its failure in Afghanistan.

She asked US senators to “introspect” about the reasons that led to melting away of the Afghan Army.

“Enough is enough. It is time for those powers who were present in Afghanistan to look to their own failures instead of targeting Pakistan which paid a heavy price in lives lost, social & econ costs, refugees - all for being an ally & suffering constant abuse, in a war that wasn’t ours,” she further said.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2021