United States’ national security advisor and Afghan war veteran HR Mc Master chastised Pakistan for continuing to use proxies and violence to pursue their interests .
“The U.S hopes Pakistani leaders will understand that it is in their interest to go after terrorist groups less selectively than they have in the past,” he said in an interview to Afghan TV channel ToloNews.
“The best way to pursue their interest in the country and elsewhere is through diplomacy not through the use of proxies and engaging violence,” he said during his first visit to Afghanistan beginning Sunday, days after the American military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on Islamic State group hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, killing nearly a hundred militants.
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The proxies McMaster was referring to are militant organistaions like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani network and Taliban that Pakistan employ to carry out terror strikes in Afghanistan and “elsewhere”, which experts assume was a reference to India.
Army General John Nicholson, who leads U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, had recently called for a “holistic review" of the relationship with Pakistan, echoing longstanding U.S. concerns that the Haqqani network, a militant group, enjoys sanctuary in areas in that country along the Afghan border.
"Our complex relationship with Pakistan is best assessed through a holistic review," Nicholson said, saying that addressing U.S. concerns about Pakistan was at the top of his list of priorities to address with the Trump administration, which came into power on January. 20.
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The United States has cut both military and economic aid to Pakistan sharply in recent years, reflecting mounting U.S. frustration with the nuclear-armed nation.
"A lot of Americans are frustrated that the bordering nation which purports to be allied on so many areas is still the source of hostile resources and fighters," said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat.
