Most observers of Pakistan-US relations see the bill introduced by Republican senators as part of US domestic politics, while some see it as a threat to Pakistan.
Opposition Republican senators in the US Senate have introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on individuals and countries that have helped the Taliban achieve their goals in Afghanistan, which Pakistan has expressed concern about. Is.
In the event of approval of the proposed bill, US President Joe Biden’s administration will have to submit a report to a congressional committee detailing the individuals and countries that provided any assistance to the Taliban between 2001 and 2021. In this regard, Pakistan is also mentioned as a ‘suspicious country’.
Republican Senator James Resh who introduced the bill said: There is already a long debate between the administration and the people of Congress about what our future role will be in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have a long relationship with Pakistan. All this is not particularly pleasant on our part. I have met with the people of the administration in Pakistan and we have agreed that we can both do some things for our own political reasons and some not at all.
Senator Resh added that the US administration is currently figuring out what to do, “and I think some meetings between the US Secretary of State and Pakistani officials will assess what can be done that both Be better in the interest of
Impact on Pakistan
Most experts on Pakistan-US relations see the bill introduced by Republican senators as part of US domestic politics, while some see it as a threat to Pakistan.
Muhammad Ali Baig, a research scholar at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, described the bill as a threat to Pakistan but said it was unlikely that it would be legalized.
Talking to The Independent Urdu, he said: The bill has the support of only 22 Republican senators, so I don’t think it will be passed by the US Senate. Prof. Dr. Rafat Hussain, a professor of international affairs, described the bill as the result of ongoing politics between American political parties – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
He said the bill was unlikely to become law, but that Washington would use it to put pressure on Islamabad. He believes the United States wants to use Pakistan’s airspace to carry out attacks in Afghanistan, and that goal can be achieved through a bill proposed by Republicans.
Prof. Dr. Rafat Hussain said that US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Ruth Sherman would be arriving in Pakistan in a few days, while CIA chief William Burns’ recent visit was also aimed at discussing the use of air routes with Pakistani officials. Had to talk
However, journalist and analyst Najam Sethi believe that if the decision is made to teach the Taliban and their supporters a lesson in the United States, then Senators from President Biden’s Democratic Party will support it and approve it in any case. Will
He said that the United States had to bear the brunt of the humiliation in Afghanistan and for this, they would have to blame someone in any case and the Taliban and Pakistan would be at the forefront. He added that in the event of sanctions on Pakistan, travel bans could be imposed on some officials of its key state institutions.
Najam Sethi said: ‘The second possibility is to impose sanctions on Pakistan but to attach them to the presidential certificate, as in the case of sanctions imposed on Islamabad in the ’90s but the then US Was attached to the annual assurance of
He said that such a situation would be difficult for Pakistan as well, as it could not do everything that Islamabad was asking it to do with regard to Afghanistan.
According to defense analyst Inam-ul-Haq the inclusion of Pakistan in the bill could be a sign of caution for Islamabad and the Taliban. It could be a message to the Taliban that their supporters could be cut off if they think they can survive without US aid.
He added that the bill proposed by the Republican senators could be a message not only for Pakistan and the Taliban but also for China and Russia.
However, he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat US Secretary of State John Kerry. Because this defeat is a great disgrace for a superpower and it is very difficult for them to undo its effects.
Prof. Rasool Bakhsh Raees said that if the bill proposed by the Republicans is passed, the United States will face problems due to being left alone in the region. If the bill is passed and the US imposes sanctions on Pakistan, then only India in the region will remain a friend of Washington.
Pakistan’s position
A statement from the Pakistani Foreign Office in Islamabad said: “We see that there is an ongoing debate in both the media and Capitol Hill in Washington to consider the situation and the situation that led to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The bill, introduced by a group of Republicans in the US Senate, seems to be a response to this debate.
The Foreign Office statement in the bill termed the reference to Pakistan as completely unnecessary and said that all such references to Islamabad were against the spirit of Pakistan-US relations.
The statement added: Since 2001, Pakistan has consistently stated that there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict, including cooperation with Afghanistan, including facilitating the Afghan peace process, and the recent withdrawal of US and other citizens from Afghanistan.
According to the Foreign Office: Pakistan has been saying that the only way to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan is through engagement and dialogue.
Sustainable security cooperation between Pakistan and the United States will be critical to dealing with any future threat of terrorism in the region, and such proposed legislative measures would be unreasonable and ineffective the statement said.
