Murky U.S.-Pakistan Relationship Defined by Afghan War

For the last 15 years, the U.S. and Pakistan have struggled to navigate the murky nature of their relationship as they strive to bring security to South Asia. Today, while U.S.-Pakistani ties are fraught with mistrust – stemming from questions over the Pakistani military’s support for the Taliban, Pakistan’s knowledge of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts before his death in 2011, and Islamabad’s true desire to achieve a stable Afghanistan – Pakistan nonetheless remains an important U.S. counterterrorism partner.

Earlier this week, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee members went to Pakistan to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to discuss regional security. At the meeting, Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said the U.S. and Pakistan “are united in our concern that the present situation in Afghanistan is not on a course for success” and that “close cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan was essential for securing peace and stability in the region,” while Sharif referred to U.S.-Pakistani collaboration as “essential.”

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