In the final analysis, [US Ambassador] Hale’s softer line was probably influenced by the resolution passed by the Pakistan National Assembly and Senate last week, which amongst other things demanded the suspension of supply routes for US forces via Pakistan in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon heavily depends on Pakistani transit routes, which are logistically and financially the most optimal. Any American ‘surge’ in Afghanistan likely means even greater dependence on Pakistan’s cooperation to keep the routes open.
It is debatable how seriously the Pakistani military’s leadership took Trump’s threats in the first place. They would know that Washington is hardly in a position to read the riot act to Pakistan, given the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, the ineptitude of the US’ Afghan ally and a highly complicated regional milieu where the US faces near-total isolation.
In all likelihood, Pakistan sensed that Trump was largely grandstanding before multiple US audiences.Asia Times
Pakistan trumps new US strategy for Afghanistan
M.K. Bhadrakumar
See also
The plot thickens.
Ben Blanchard and Philip Wen
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