ISLAMABAD: United States Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned this week that US President Joe Biden’s approach not to engage with Pakistan on Afghanistan was a “major disaster in the making.”
The senator’s comments come amid slow progress in Taliban and Afghan government peace talks in Qatar and as violence rises dramatically around the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces by September 11.
As of June, Biden has not made any contact with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan since he took over as president this January.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday evening, Graham said the planned withdrawal from war-torn Afghanistan required Pakistan’s cooperation.
“I believe that this decision by the Biden Administration to withdraw all forces and not stay engaged with Pakistan is a major disaster in the making, even worse than the blunder in Iraq,” Graham said.
I believe that this decision by the Biden Administration to withdraw all forces and not stay engaged with Pakistan is a major disaster in the making, even worse than the blunder in Iraq.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 22, 2021
“Stunning to hear that President Biden hasn’t reached out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan regarding the US-Pakistan relationship and Afghanistan,” the senator said in another tweet
Stunning to hear that President Biden hasn’t reached out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan regarding the U.S.-Pakistan relationship and Afghanistan.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 22, 2021
Senator Graham has also questioned how the US expected troop withdrawal from Afghanistan “to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan? Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us.”
How do we expect our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan? Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 22, 2021
A day earlier, on Tuesday, in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan was ready to partner with the US for peace in Afghanistan but would avoid risking further conflict, saying his country was opposed to a military takeover of Afghanistan and would not offer the US bases.
“The interests of Pakistan and the United States in Afghanistan are the same. We want a negotiated peace, not civil war. We need stability and an end to terrorism aimed at both our countries,” Khan wrote.
