United States allies and key regional players react to Trump’s Afghanistan plan

US President Donald Trump’s renewed stand on Pakistan in which he lashed out at Islamabad for providing safe havens to the terrorists has been welcomed by a group of influential lawmakers.

On Monday, Pakistan’s military, in a statement before Trump’s speech, also insisted the country has done all it can to tackle militancy.

“Terrorists (are) infiltrating to Afghanistan from Pakistan, a hostile neighbour that has been supporting and harbouring insurgency”, the Afghanistan Times said in an editorial. However, it will not change the policy of Pakistan towards Kashmir.

USA officials later warned that aid to Pakistan might be cut and Washington might downgrade nuclear-armed Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally to pressure it to do more to help bring about an end to America’s longest-running war.

In fact, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua is now on a visit to Beijing, whose own Foreign Office released a statement calling on “the global community [to] fully recognize Pakistan’s contributions and great sacrifices made in fight against terrorism”. “Those that harbour terrorist networks must eliminate them”, Lt Gen (Retd) Keith Kellogg, Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National Security Council, wrote in an op-ed to Breitbart News.

He openly accused Pakistan of giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror”.

Spokesperson Michael Anton was responding to questions on Pakistan’s apprehensions and allegations of India’s encirclement of them through Afghanistan.

“While additional USA forces could be deployed in the right capacity, such as training Afghan forces and providing powerful air support to Afghan fighters on the ground, the Afghani troops need to be the ones in combat efforts on the ground”, Hoeven said.

Russia said it does not believe that Trump’s new strategy on Afghanistan will lead to any significant positive changes in the country, the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying on Tuesday.

Making Pakistan a scapegoat would not help maintain stability in Afghanistan.

Islamabad condemned the USA criticism of its fight against terrorism, accusing Washington of shifting the blame for its own failures.

President Trump’s sketched-out plan appeared to be an echo of former vice president Joe Biden’s proposal, dubbed “counter-terrorism plus”, said Professor Fair.

The Qartz article said both Presidents Trump and Obama have pledged that there would be no “blank check” to Afghanistan.

Sigmar Gabriel said it was important to ensure that “people from Afghanistan don’t have to flee to us”. “It is highly unlikely we will allow Blackwater to replace USA -led worldwide forces”, a high-ranking government member told The Media Line on condition of anonymity, adding that “this would not work”.

Tillerson was expanding on Trump’s Monday speech that laid out the administration’s approach to the war of nearly 16 years, which has claimed more than 2,000 USA lives and billions of dollars since it was launched by President George W. Bush in October 2001.

Cabinet members, top brass of civilian and military leadership including chiefs of armed forces will attend the meeting and discuss the new United States policy for South Asia and Afghanistan.

They also expressed dissatisfaction with Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan’s statement at the outset of debate on the Indian prime minister’s recent visit to the U.S., where he signed agreements for the purchase of unmanned drones and nuclear submarines.

He said mere statements that there are no favourites among militant groups are not enough unless backed by action on the ground.

Preempting possible criticism of Pakistan’s nuclear programme after the US’s shift in stance, he reminded those listening that: “The committee understood that as a responsible nuclear-weapon holder state Pakistan has in place a robust command and control system, which has been universally recognised and appreciated”.

Tillerson, meanwhile, said the US would not indefinitely hide how many troops it will be sending to Afghanistan.