It is increasingly clear that the US cannot establish a strong footing for itself in the region without the support of Pakistan. India is now US’ key ally in the region but this South Asian country does not share border either with Afghanistan or any Central Asian state. The US, which has seized Afghanistan’s assets after Kabul takeover by Taliban in August this year, can play the most important role in averting a looming humanitarian catastrophe in this landlocked country. It will surely help it regain some of the ground that it has lost through its ignominious exit from Afghanistan. This will require the US to stop ignoring Pakistan. This realization appears to have finally dawned on the White House. The meetings of US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West with Pakistan’s army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and others constitute a good case in point.

Munir Ahmad (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021