Afghanistan should not be allowed to destabilise Pakistan: Kerry: PakTribune

WASHINGTON: Describing Pakistan’s stability as a vital US national interest, top American Senator John Kerry has advocated that Afghanistan should not be allowed to destabilise its neighbour and the region.

Chairing a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on strategy for Afghanistan, Kerry called for setting realistic goals in the insurgency-hit country. “The purpose of our mission should be to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for al-Qaeda and a destabilising force in the region, especially Pakistan,” the Democratic lawmaker said in his opening statement at the hearing, held to explore various scenarios for the US involvement in Afghanistan.

“We also need to consider our mission in Afghanistan in the context of a highly volatile and strategically vital region, where permeable borders are straddled by clans, ethnic groups, and militants, where what happens in one country can have profound implications for the security of its neighbors.

“The continued stability of Pakistan, a nuclear armed nation in an existential struggle with extremists and insurgents, remains a vital national interest,” he added. Kerry said he did not believe that the United States was in Afghanistan to create a carbon-copy of American-style democracy, or impose a strong central government in a nation that had never had one.

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