In a bold statement that went viral as soon as it was made, Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf made it clear to the United States that this country has ‘other’ options if the Biden administration continues to ignore Pakistan’s incumbent leadership.
Speaking to The Financial Times in an interview, Moeed Yusuf said: “The president of the United States hasn’t spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?”
“We’ve been told every time that… [the phone call] will happen, it’s technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don’t believe it,” he said.
“If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options,” Moeed Yusuf added.
Soon after Dr. Yusuf’s statement went viral, the US State Dept reassured Islamabad that the incumbent US administration recognizes how important Pakistan is in restoring peace in Afghanistan.
US State Department’s spokesman Ned Price said: “Pakistan has much to gain and will continue to have a critical role, be well-positioned to have a role in supporting the outcome” in Afghanistan.