US policy on Afghan Issue

The US Senate is urging the Trump administration to use a combination of sanction threats and offers of a long-term partnership to persuade Pakistan to stop “supporting Afghan insurgents”. According to report, an amendment to the US National Defence Authorisation Act 2018 also suggests strictly conditioning further US military, economic and governance assistance programmes for Afghanistan upon measurable progress in achieving the benchmarks for implementing necessary institutional reforms, especially those related to anti-corruption, financial transparency and the rule of law.
Senator John McCain, who moved the amendment, chairs the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, and his legislative moves often get through Congress.
The section on Pakistan wants the US administration to “pursue an integrated civil-military strategy” that would achieve Washington’s strategic objectives by “imposing graduated diplomatic, military and economic costs on Pakistan as long as it continues to provide support and sanctuary to terrorist and insurgent groups, including the Taliban and the Haqqani network”.
To achieve this target, the amendment suggests “simultaneously outlining the potential benefits of a long-term US-Pakistan strategic partnership that could result from the cessation by Pakistan of support for all terrorist and insurgent groups and constructive role in bringing about a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan”.
The proposed legislation emphasises the need for intensifying US regional diplomatic efforts, working through flexible frameworks for regional dialogue together with Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other nations. Such efforts should aim to promote political reconciliation in Afghanistan by advancing regional cooperation on issues such as border security, intelligence sharing, counternarcotics, transportation and trade, says the amendment which was moved in the Senate.
While Mr. Trump authorises his Defence Secretary James Mattis to send more US troops to Afghanistan, the State Department has clearly claimed that a military solution might not be viable. It certainly hasn’t solved the ongoing sixteen-year-old war. Instead, the State Department claimed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants a diplomatic effort for peace, which includes talking to the Afghan Taliban.
This is a statement by the State Department and shows that at least some sections of the American policymaking elite realise the futility of extended military intervention in Afghanistan.
How much Trump will heed his Secretary of State’s advice is still uncertain. Trump has so far shown shocking nonchalance towards the Afghan conflict, and he does not seem to have a concrete plan.
The very point was reaffirmed by Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary in his recent address to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington. Taliban are important stakeholders and without taking them on board, one should not imagine that they would be able to achieve the ultimate goal of peace in Afghanistan. As the US has expressed desire for talks, it should create conducive environment and offer incentives in order to bring the other party to the negotiations table. It is high time that the QCG which also involves Pakistan and China should be restored immediately and from its platform, efforts are made to induce the Taliban to negotiations. The Afghan people already have suffered a lot due to decades of war and conflict.