Leaked documents indicate US seeking Pakistan’s assistance to deal with militant groups in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: An American publication that obtained sensitive emails and unclassified diplomatic cables reported Friday the United States was seeking Pakistan’s cooperation to deal with transnational militant networks after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on August 15.
US President Joe Biden’s announcement to pull out international forces from Afghanistan in April intensified the Taliban campaign to capture key towns and strategic border crossings in their country which ultimately led to the downfall of the Western-backed Ashraf Ghani administration.
Pakistan has since criticized the “disorderly” withdrawal of foreign forces from its neighborhood, expressing fears of another refugee influx in the absence of a negotiated political settlement in Kabul.
POLITICO, a US magazine based in Washington, said the leaked documents reviewed by its team provided a glimpse into the tensions between the two countries even “after two decades of war in Afghanistan.”
“The Biden administration is quietly pressing Pakistan to cooperate on fighting terrorist groups such as [Daesh] and Al Qaeda in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan,” it said, adding that Pakistan was more interested in getting public recognition for its efforts to evacuate foreign nationals from Afghanistan.
The magazine said the US administration was not particularly open about its contacts and discussions with the Pakistani authorities, noting that Islamabad was still considered important due to its influence over the Afghan Taliban.
It added the US would not want to lose Islamabad, which was in possession of nuclear arms, “entirely to Chinese influence.”
Despite these strategic considerations, it reported, the leaked documents suggested that “the two governments are far from lockstep on the road ahead.”
“In one discussion with a US official, for instance, Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan appeared to question reports that the Taliban are carrying out revenge attacks in Afghanistan — including claims that the group has been executing its perceived enemies in door-to-door raids,” it reported.
“Khan told the American official that, according to Pakistani ‘ground observations,’ the Afghan Taliban ‘were not seeking retribution, and in fact were going home to home to assure Afghans that there will not be reprisals,’ according to parts of a memo circulated among US diplomats,” POLITICO added. “The US official, Ervin Massinga of the State Department, is described as noting that ‘he has seen reporting to the contrary and hopes the Taliban do not seek revenge.’“
The magazine quoted a former American diplomat as saying that Pakistan could help track down and target militants in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal from that country.
POLITICO also reported the US diplomatic mission in Pakistan had been trying to figure out how to deal with requests to assist Afghans in Pakistan who claim they are eligible for resettlement in the US.

Leaked documents indicate US seeking Pakistan’s assistance to deal with militant groups in Afghanistan