Pakistan's Prime Minister Says Trump's Strategy in Afghanistan 'Will Not Be Effective'

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, says the newly announced strategy of the U.S. President regarding Afghanistan will not lead to success. In an interview with Bloomberg published on August 27, Abbasi reacted to Donald Trump's new strategy. He stated, 'From the very beginning, we have clearly said that military strategy in Afghanistan has yielded no results and will yield none.' The Prime Minister of Pakistan added that a 'political solution' must be achieved and that this is 'the final way.' Abbasi, who has been in office for three weeks following the court ruling regarding Nawaz Sharif, stated that Islamabad supports the battle against terrorism in Afghanistan. However, he continued that his government will not allow these battles to spill over into Pakistan. The U.S. President announced his new strategy regarding Afghanistan on August 21, in a speech that attracted significant attention, criticizing Pakistan and emphasizing that U.S. commitments are 'not a blank check.' Trump stated that Pakistan routinely provides a safe haven for 'agents of chaos, violence, and terror' and that his administration can no longer remain silent on such issues. Following this speech, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he had asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to begin necessary actions to implement the new strategy. From Mattis's remarks, it appears that the number of U.S. and other forces in Afghanistan may be increased. Shortly after the U.S. President's speech, it was reported that Pakistan had postponed a meeting with Alice Wells, the acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs. Islamabad has not officially commented on the connection between the postponement of this meeting and Trump's remarks, although criticisms in Pakistan regarding the U.S. President's speech have increased and continued. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Pakistan on Tuesday that it must adopt a different approach in the fight against terrorism, and the continuation of Washington's relations and aid to Islamabad is conditional on such a change. On the same day that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's interview was broadcast, Tillerson stated in an interview with Fox that 'I think the President's comments were quite clear; this (new strategy) is a major change in military strategy.' Abbasi, who has succeeded Nawaz Sharif, is considered a close ally of him, and his cabinet members are mainly former cabinet members or close allies of Sharif.