Associated Press of Pakistan
US, Pakistan need each other beyond Afghanistan: Gates
WASHINGTON, June 17 (APP): The United States and Pakistan need each other more than just in the Afghan context as Pakistan is a key regional player in Central Asia as well, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. Although the relationship between the two countries is complicated, both need to work on it, the outgoing Pentagon leader argued in his final Press Conference.
“It is complicated --- as I’ve said often before, we need each other, and we need each other more than just in the context of Afghanistan. Pakistan is an important player in terms of regional stability and in terms of Central Asia. And so my view is that this is a relationship where we just need to keep working at it.”
Gates who will retire at the end of the month, was responding to a question as to how the relationship between Washington and Islamabad could be saved from a downward spiral, following American action in Abbottabad that took out al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden last month but has strained bilateral ties.
The defense secretary, who also served as Director of the CIA in his long career in national security field, noted that the “long history of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship has had its ebbs and flows.”
“They (Pakistanis) have regarded over the decades that we have abandoned them on at least four occasions: two wars with India, when the Soviets left Afghanistan, and then after the enforcement of the Pressler amendment. So it’s a—a relationship both sides have had to work on.”
Questioned if he sees something that’s going to come up in the near future that can change the direction of the relationship, Gates underlined the need for keeping communication lines open.
“Just as the ebbs have come at—in surprising ways, I suppose that the things that would cause an uptick are hard to predict right now. But the key is to keep the lines of communication—literally, I mean between our governments—open, and to continue communicating with each other as openly and as honestly as we can.”
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman Joint Chiefs Staff, appearing jointly with Gates, said from his perspective, “nothing’s changed in terms of the criticality of the relationship,” Pakistan is a partner against terrorists, Gates and Mullen said.
They pointed out that Pakistan has 140,000 troops along its border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani military has cleaned South Waziristan and the Swat Valley of the Taliban. The United States ships a majority of its supplies (around 60 per cent) to Afghanistan across Pakistan, and keeping those lines of communication open is also literally and figuratively important.
Finally, both men pointed out that Pakistan is a nuclear country. Maintaining good relations with Pakistan could help ensure nuclear know -how and safety.
Mullen said he agrees with what the secretary said. “As opportunities come up and we hit some very difficult times, I think there will be opportunities for the relationship to improve. Certainly, the challenges aren’t going to go away. The region isn’t going to go away.
“And as I said yesterday on Capitol Hill, I believe we have to be very careful now in terms of the relationship. And you know, were it to break or were we to walk away, I think in a—it’s a matter of time before the region is that much more dangerous and there would be a huge pull for us to have to return to protect our national interests,” Mullen remarked.
Questioned about the impact Washington’s cutting off funding for Pakistan could have and whethet the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan could succeed without Pakistan, Gates underlined Pakistan’s important role.
“First of all, I would say that the—that our strategy is succeeding and Pakistan is playing a contributory role to that. It is—it is important to remember that they have 140,000 troops on that border that, at a minimum, are stirring things up. They’ve basically cleared South Waziristan and Swat,” Gates said.
“Clearly the lines of communication through Pakistan are critical for our operations in Afghanistan. So I think all of these things are important.
“And then just in terms of regional stability, there is the reality that Pakistan is a country that has a number of nuclear weapons. And again, keeping those lines of communication open, it seems to me, is very important,” he said.
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=142474&Itemid=1
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