Daily Times

WASHINGTON: The top US general in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that he had not seen a change in Pakistan’s “support for militants so far”, despite President Donald Trump taking a tougher line against Islamabad.

In August, Trump outlined a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, chastising Pakistan over its alleged support for Afghan militants.

He accused Pakistan of harbouring “agents of chaos” and providing safe havens to militant groups waging an insurgency against a US-backed government in Kabul.

US official expressed hope that relations between the two countries could improve after a kidnapped US-Canadian couple and their three children were freed in Pakistan in October, after the couple was abducted in neighboring Afghanistan.

“We have been very direct and very clear with the Pakistanis… we have not seen those changes implemented yet,” General John Nicholson told reporters.

“We are hoping to see those changes, we are hoping to work together with the Pakistanis going forward to eliminate terrorists who are crossing the border,” Nicholson said.

He claimed that senior Taliban leaders were based in Pakistan, while the lower level leadership was in Afghanistan.

Pakistan says it has done a great deal to help the United States in tracking down terrorists.

Meanwhile, General John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, on Tuesday said the US troops in the country would receive more air power resources in the near future to fight alongside Afghan soldiers against insurgents.

He said the Taliban would not be able to win as the US forces in the country are receiving more air facilities and resources.

“We are ready to fight alongside you, and work with you for peace,” Nicholson said in a meeting with Afghan officials in the northeastern province of Kunduz on Tuesday.

Nicholson’s remarks come at a time that the US has already tripled the number of air raids on the Taliban hideouts and training camps in the country this year.

“We will get more resources here. We will get even more air power and more resources, this is why we say the Taliban cannot win in the face of this, the other important aspect of this policy you referred is that we are putting very direct pressure on Pakistan to stop…the terrorists who are attacking Afghanistan,” said Nicholson.

“If we convey a clear message to the people that the war which is ongoing today is not Jihad (holy war) but a war of corruption, this would have significant impacts on the mind of those who do not really know that why the war continues in Afghanistan,” said Masoom Stanekzai, head of the National Directorate of Security.

Meanwhile, Nicholson offered an apology over human casualties in Kunduz last month which was caused by foreign forces air raids in Kunduz.

He said holding the elections would have significant implications on the Taliban insurgency as it sends a clear message to the resurgent group that they would not be able to win through the war and violence and that the Taliban should reintegrate to the society and denounce violence.

Published in Daily Times, November 29^th 2017.