US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has warned that Pakistan could lose its status as a privileged military ally if Islamabad does not change its approach towards insurgents enjoying safe havens in the country.
“We are going to be conditioning our support for Pakistan and our relationship with them on them delivering results in this area. We want to work with Pakistan in a positive way, but they must change their approach,” Tillerson said.
This new development takes place a day after US President Donald Trump announced his new war strategy on Afghanistan which includes the deployment of additional US troops and efforts to force a resurgent Taliban to negotiate a political settlement with the government in Kabul.
Tillerson said that the Trump administration was considering many options on Pakistan including a complete termination of financial aid to Pakistan as a non-NATO ally.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has expressed concerns over the tense relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tillerson said that those who are threatening the US interests will be targeted anywhere.
“We are going to attack terrorists wherever they live, and we have put people on notice that if you are harboring and providing safe havens to terrorists, be warned. Be forewarned. And we're going to engage with those who are providing safe havens and ask them to change what they're doing and help us help them,” said Tillerson.
“Well, I think it's - obviously, we have some leverage that's been discussed in terms of the amount of aid and military assistance we give them, their status as a non-NATO alliance partner. All of that can be put on the table,” added Tillerson.
“China is deeply concerned about tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, we believe that friendly relations between the two countries are not only in their own interests, but in the interests of the region,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying.
Despite the ups and downs in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani once again invited Pakistan to make peace with Afghanistan.
In an address to the Afghan people on Wednesday, Ghani said now was the time for Pakistan to change its approach and that Afghanistan has never taken steps to destabilize Pakistan.
“We want to say it clearly that appropriate ground should be paved to settle the issues through negotiations instead of engaging in decades of wars,” said Ghani.
According to Tillerson, officials in Washington have directly talked about the US’s concerns with the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, but time will tell whether Pakistan changes its behavior - that has been ongoing for years.