The foreign forces have almost withdrawn from Afghanistan, and now major international stakeholders are looking towards Pakistan to play a leading role in bringing stability to its neighbourhood. With the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s need has been diminished and there are fears of renewed US sanctions, as in the past. The United States has confirmed the strained relations by including Pakistan in the list of child soldier recruiter list.
The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act requires publication in the annual TIP report of a list of foreign governments that have recruited or used child soldiers during the previous year (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021). The designation could lead to strict sanctions on military assistance and listed countries’ participation in peacekeeping programmes.
Reacting strongly to Pakistan’s inclusion, the Foreign Office said the move depicted “a factual error and lack of understanding”, and urged Washington to review the “baseless assertions” made against the country in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.
Pakistan’s inclusion in the list of is an indication that after the troops’ withdrawal, the importance of Pakistan in the eye of United States has become less, because of the presence of an ally like India. US experts claim that Pak-US relations are not going to return to the good old days, until Islamabad changes its policies on terrorism and its relations with China and India.
Meanwhile, the prime minister told Chinese state broadcaster that Pakistan will not join any anti-Beijing grouping. The US is pushing the ‘Quad’, a grouping of four states that includes India, to contain China. Considering this, the premier’s concerns are valid, and he has rightly said that Pakistan will not abandon its friends.
Pakistan has always angered other friendly countries by making decisions in the interest of the US and now Washington has started ignoring Islamabad after achieving its goal. Pakistan also wishes to have cordial ties with the US, but the country will not become a party to any rivalries designed to isolate its traditional allies.
It seems that the United States wants to re-establish relations with Pakistan as soon as the Afghan war ends, but this time the resilience is less likely than in the past.
