"We made it very clear that we expect they (Pakistan) will cooperate with us, particularly against the Haqqani network and against terrorist organisations," said McCain, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, in Kabul. "If they don't change their behaviour maybe we should change our behaviour towards Pakistan as a nation," he insisted. The Senate visit to Islamabad and Kabul comes as the US is gearing up to send more troops to Afghanistan to support Afghan forces straining to beat back the resurgent Taliban. McCain called for more than just troops, however, urging "a strategy to win" the war which has dragged on for nearly 16 years and which even US generals concede is at a "stalemate". "The strongest nation on earth in this world should be able to win this conflict," he said, calling for diplomatic efforts alongside a military push.
The US currently has 8,400 troops deployed under the Nato banner, and is thought to be mulling sending up to 4,000 more. Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has stressed his new approach, due to be presented to US President Donald Trump by mid-July, will have a broader "regional" emphasis, with no set timetable. Trump has remained remarkably taciturn on Afghanistan, but this month gave Mattis authority to set troop numbers at whatever level he saw fit.
Nato, whose Operation Resolute Support numbers some 13,500 including the Americans, also promised last week to increase its presence in Afghanistan. Recent Taliban gains have shaken confidence in Afghanistan's future and talk of sending Nato troops in has stoked fears the alliance could get sucked back into an unwinnable war. But Mattis refused recently to "put timelines" on the conflict. "The bottom line is that Nato has made a commitment to Afghanistan for freedom from fear and terror... You can't let this be undone," he said in Brussels last week.
dpa adds: Afghanistan and Pakistan will conduct joint military operations against militants' safe havens on both sides of the border, a spokesman of the Afghan presidential palace said Tuesday. Afghanistan has agreed to conduct the operations with neighbouring Pakistan to remove Taliban and Haqqani network safe havens, spokesman Najibullah Azad told dpa, adding that the US and China will monitor the operations. Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been strained for months, with each accusing the other of providing sanctuaries for militants.
A large number of militant groups targeting both countries have a presence in the border areas, which are also used by extremists seeking safe passage between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban today controls or influences around 11 per cent of districts while about 30 per cent are embattled.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017
Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2017