As the new US administration is set to take in their responsibilities following President-elect’s inauguration today, his defence secretary spoke about the plans and motives of the country on the India, Pakistan front.
Retired General Lloyd Austin, the new Defence Secretary appointed by Biden, said on Tuesday that his objective is to elevate the defence relationship between the US and India.
The official shared the plans during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee members after he was questioned on the subject.
He added saying, “I would further operationalise India’s ”Major Defence Partner” status and continue to build upon existing strong defence cooperation to ensure the US and Indian militaries can collaborate to address shared interests.”
Disclosing the goals the department has set, the Secretary said that his aim would be to scale and deepen the defence cooperation that exists between the two countries. For this, the route of Quad security dialogue and the many regional multilateral channels would be sought, Mr Austin said.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, he acknowledged the steps taken by the nation for standing in line with the requests furnished by the US for paving the way for Afghanistan’s peace process. Additionally, he said that Pakistan has also proved its mettle by battling against anti-India groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taeba that birthed in Pakistan.
However, he noted that the procedure is not completed yet.
Mr Austin said, “Many factors in addition to the security assistance suspension may impact Pakistan’s cooperation, including Afghanistan negotiations and the dangerous escalation following the Pulwama terrorist attack,” referring to the bans placed on the financial and security assistance offered to Pakistan in 2018. The then-President Donald Trump had suspended the aid, claiming Islamabad proved to be inefficient by refusing to cooperate in the battle against terrorism in the world.
If and when the plans are approved, the Secretary said he will urge Islamabad to make attempts to stop its land from being utilized for the wrong deeds and becoming the birthplace for militant groups and other extremist associations.
He continued saying in this aspect that a steady partnership with Pakistan’s military can allow both the nations to divert their attention to prime issues.
Mr. Austin also added that the relationship will also attend the shared interests of the countries, like training of the future Pak military leaders with the help of International Military Education and Training funds, which wasn’t being provided since the last 3 years.
On the Afghanistan front, he spoke about Pakistan as the ‘key entity’ in driving the extremist organizations towards their defeat in their territory including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), as well as in Afghanistan, in order to improve the regional stability.
He said that these goals can be reached through Pak’s involvement in preventing regional as leaders from acting as the major hurdles towards the attainment of peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s neighbour.
