Pakistan’s military has warned the US that they face a “total mess” in Afghanistan unless US and UK can halt the advance of ISIS and the Taliban, a Pakistani army source told the British newspaper Telegraph.
If ISIS and the Taliban continue to gain strength, it could tempt Russia to stage a Syrian-style intervention, this time on the pretext of protecting its “backyard” in Central Asia. He said the West was “losing control” since the collapse in security since the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Last month, Russia held a conference on Afghanistan, along with China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The United States was not invited to the talks. Some analysts said this signalled Russia’s intention to play a more active role in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The summit had called for dialogue with the Taliban and Moscow has already started backchannel contacts with them saying that they could be used to battle the ISIS.
The Pakistan army source told Telegraph that in a meeting last month with the ‘Resolute Support Mission’ commander US General John Nicholson, the American admitted that Afghan forces were in a stalemate against the Taliban.
“A stalemate is still a win for the Taliban,” Pakistani army officials reportedly told Gen. Nicholson. The source added: “We have told Gen. (James) Mattis that Afghanistan is slipping out of control, and that if things are not put right, US will have a huge crisis on its hands.”
The Pakistan source also compared Afghan Generals to “donkeys.” “There are 350,000 troops in the Afghan Army, but only about 20,000 are capable of combat missions. They also have about 1,000 Generals, most of whom are appointed because of their tribal affiliations rather than on merit. The problem is that you can’t teach a donkey to gallop,” the source told The Telegraph.
Pakistan has criticised the Afghan government for not doing enough to seal its side of the Afghan border.
