Normalverkehr

If Afghanistan fails, Pakistan could follow

NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) The United States must focus on securing and rebuilding Afghanistan because if it fails then neighboring Pakistan could follow, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden said on Monday after returning from a tour of both countries. Biden said Pakistan’s cooperation in the fight against extremism was also critical to the success of Afghanistan but had so far been “sporadic at best,” adding that Washington had to move from a policy focused on a personality — Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf — to one focused on the country.

He said the United States needed to triple its nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan and sustain it for a decade focusing on schools, roads and clinics, give the government a “democracy dividend” above this to jump-start progress, help Islamabad develop the country’s northwest provinces and demand transparency and accountability in the military aid provided. Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said more troops are needed in Afghanistan and called for greater focus on basics like roads and power plus giving the military cash for quick projects like digging wells.

“Afghanistan’s fate and Pakistan’s future are joined and America’s security is tied to both,”

Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations.

“If Afghanistan fails, Pakistan could follow, because extremists will set their sights on the bigger prize to the east.”

Biden, Democrat Sen. John Kerry and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel visited Pakistan, India, Turkey and Afghanistan. Biden also said that if the United States makes Afghanistan its priority, then so will its allies.

Source: dawn.com