US Centcom Chief accuses Pakistan of using Taliban as a hedge against India

Lt Gen Kenneth McKenzie, the next chief of the US Central Command (Centcom), in his written response to the US Senate Armed Services Committee after his confirmation hearing, has made some accusations against Pakistan top of which is “Taliban being utilised as a hedge against India rather than as part of a stable, reconciled Afghanistan.”

Pakistan’s concerns over India’s growing influence in Afghanistan and what the US could do to allay those concerns were highlighted at a congressional hearing this week in Washington where McKenzie said that as Centcom chief, he “will make Pakistan a priority engagement”.
However he also said: “At this time, Pakistan does not appear to be using the full extent of its influence to encourage the Taliban to come to the table,” he wrote in a response posted on the committee’s website on Wednesday. “We continue to see the Taliban being utilised as a hedge against India rather than as part of a stable, reconciled Afghanistan,” he added.
Gen McKenzie acknowledged that Pakistan “has national interests it wants addressed in any future political settlement in the region, including a politically stable Afghanistan”.
He said that under his command, US Centcom would continue to support efforts “towards a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Afghanistan which includes ensuring that Islamabad’s equities are acknowledged in any future agreement”.
The US general said that stability in South Asia was “the most important mutual strategic interest” for both the US and Pakistan, and “we must continue to engage with Pakistani leadership to realise how we can achieve this mutual interest”.
Gen McKenzie said Pakistan was an essential element in long-term stability in Afghanistan and could play a key role in facilitating talks between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan.
The general was asked to give his assessment of the strategic relationship between the United States and Pakistan as well as to outline areas of shared strategic interest between the two countries.
Gen McKenzie replied: “The US and Pakistan military-to-military relationship is strong. We share an important strategic relationship given that Pakistan is a nuclear power that sits at the nexus of Russian, Chinese, Indian and American geopolitical interests. However, Pakistan’s action or inaction, as it relates to stability in Afghanistan, has often led to frustration between our governments and militaries.”
In reply to a question about the major challenges in US-Pakistan relationship, he said: “Despite Pakistan’s positive rhetoric in support of the South Asia Strategy, violent extremist organisations (VEOs) operate along its border with Afghanistan.