Islamabad, December 03: Pakistan today asked the US to work closely with it to ensure that Washington’s new policy for Afghanistan, including a troop surge, does not affect Pakistani interests and security.
“Pakistan looks forward to engaging closely with the US in understanding the full import of the new strategy and to ensure that there would be no adverse fallout on Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
The Foreign Office was reacting to President Barack Obama’s announcement that the US intends to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, taking the total number of American soldiers there to 100,000, and that deployments will be scaled back from July 2011.
Pakistan’s top leaders have expressed concern over the past few months that the deployment of additional US troops in Afghanistan could prompt Taliban fighters to sneak across the border to seek refuge in Pakistani territory.
They have insisted that the US should work closely with Pakistan in framing and implementing any new policy for Afghanistan.
Basit said: “Pakistan and the US need to closely coordinate their efforts to achieve shared objectives. There is certainly the need for clarity and coordination on all aspects of the implementation of the strategy.”
Pakistan has “taken careful note” of Obama’s new Afghan strategy, Basit said.
–PTI