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WASHINGTON: Pakistan has a growing fear that the US might abandon it once again after its exit from Afghanistan next year. The Pakistan embassy has conveyed the message to the Obama administration in numerous meetings, according to the acting ambassador Dr Asad Majeed.
Talking to The News after attending an event on the Capitol Hill, he said Pakistani officials have been expressing concern, both publicly and in official meetings with American officials, that Pakistan could be left to deal with the fallout of the US withdrawal in the form of militancy and extremism in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan had also asked the US to make sure that the exit process should not harm it. Quoting the idiom, "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," he added Pakistan hopes that history does not repeat itself. "The country is taking positive steps and is willing to cooperate with the international community, the US and Afghanistan to ensure peace in the region," Dr Asad said.
He reiterated that the relationship between the two countries was stable now despite the rockiness of the past two years. Now both countries believe that the door to talks in the event of any incident should remain open.
Meanwhile, concerns remain on the US side as well. Congressman Andre Carson hailed Pakistanis for helping the US quash extremism. He commented that the US cannot afford to abandon Pakistan, but also stayed skeptical of the country's intelligence agency — the ISI.
He told The News, "I think the relationship is too critical, the needs (on both sides) are too great, and I think as a strategic partner Pakistan has to reaffirm her commitment to the United States."
Congressman Carson, an Indiana Democrat, is one of two Muslim congressmen, said in the past "we have seen critical leaks with the ISI and we need a guarantee that as a country those leaks would not continue to occur." He said the relationship had to be reciprocal.
"I think often too many countries put too much on the United States without respectfully carrying their weight," he said, adding that the nature of any true friendship was that both parties agree to meet the needs of others in a reasonable way.
"As a strategic partners, our intelligence agencies have to work together cooperatively in exchange of information, and know that what we give them not be leaked and we have to guarantee with what they give us not be leaked as well," the congressman said.
Pakistan fears US will again abandon it - thenews.com.pk
Talking to The News after attending an event on the Capitol Hill, he said Pakistani officials have been expressing concern, both publicly and in official meetings with American officials, that Pakistan could be left to deal with the fallout of the US withdrawal in the form of militancy and extremism in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan had also asked the US to make sure that the exit process should not harm it. Quoting the idiom, "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," he added Pakistan hopes that history does not repeat itself. "The country is taking positive steps and is willing to cooperate with the international community, the US and Afghanistan to ensure peace in the region," Dr Asad said.
He reiterated that the relationship between the two countries was stable now despite the rockiness of the past two years. Now both countries believe that the door to talks in the event of any incident should remain open.
Meanwhile, concerns remain on the US side as well. Congressman Andre Carson hailed Pakistanis for helping the US quash extremism. He commented that the US cannot afford to abandon Pakistan, but also stayed skeptical of the country's intelligence agency — the ISI.
He told The News, "I think the relationship is too critical, the needs (on both sides) are too great, and I think as a strategic partner Pakistan has to reaffirm her commitment to the United States."
Congressman Carson, an Indiana Democrat, is one of two Muslim congressmen, said in the past "we have seen critical leaks with the ISI and we need a guarantee that as a country those leaks would not continue to occur." He said the relationship had to be reciprocal.
"I think often too many countries put too much on the United States without respectfully carrying their weight," he said, adding that the nature of any true friendship was that both parties agree to meet the needs of others in a reasonable way.
"As a strategic partners, our intelligence agencies have to work together cooperatively in exchange of information, and know that what we give them not be leaked and we have to guarantee with what they give us not be leaked as well," the congressman said.
Pakistan fears US will again abandon it - thenews.com.pk
