Tillerson dictation to Pakistan to partner with United States

“Pakistan must contribute by combating terrorist groups on its own soil, urged US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an op-ed published in the New York Times without saying anything about the fact that United States itself failed to defeat these terrorists despite its war on Afghanistan since late 2001. He also failed to mention that the terrorists were created in the name of Mujahideen as assets by US-led coalition in the 1980s.

In an opinion piece titled ‘I Am Proud of Our Diplomacy’, the US’s top diplomat said Pakistan “must demonstrate its desire to partner with us” to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists. He wrote that a commitment to stopping terrorism and extremism had motivated the Trump administration to unveil a new South Asia strategy, which focuses on Afghanistan.
The United States is prepared to partner with Pakistan to defeat terrorist organisations seeking safe havens.
“That country [Afghanistan] cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, as it was in the days before the Sept 11 attacks.”
Tillerson defended his country’s foreign policy record in the article, saying progress had been made in the last year to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and to counter the “immense challenges” posed by Russia, China and Iran.
The secretary said some 90 per cent of Pyongyang’s export earnings had been cut off by a series of international sanctions after the Trump administration “abandoned the failed policy of strategic patience”.