As Afghan Pullout Looms, U.S. Urged to Rethink Pakistan Ties

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http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/01/afghan-pullout-looms-u-s-urged-rethink-pakistan-ties/



Neither the police nor the paramilitary forces have been unable to control targeted killings of aid workers in Karachi.

As Afghan Pullout Looms, U.S. Urged to Rethink Pakistan Ties
By Ramy Srour

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 2014 (IPS) - With the 2014 deadline for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in sight, analysts here are urging Washington policymakers to drop the term ‘Af-Pak’ and recognise the importance of Pakistan beyond its implications for Afghanistan.

U.S.-Pakistan relations have for too long focused on the Afghan security question, according to a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a Washington think tank. Such a focus, CFR researchers warn, neglects the high strategic importance Islamabad has for the United States in the region.

“U.S. policy in Pakistan has consistently been linked to Afghanistan and has fallen under the broader heading of Af-Pak – a label that has never been very popular in Pakistan and one that has also been seen as degrading,” Daniel S. Markey, a senior fellow at the CFR and author of the new report, told IPS.

“But as the U.S. is drawing down in Afghanistan and in many ways signalling a reduced commitment there, (it) ought to rethink its Pakistan strategy.”