File photo of a US Predator drone flying over the moon above Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo
File photo of a US Predator drone flying over the moon above Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo

Trump mulls tough stance on Pakistan



NEW YORK // The Trump administration is considering toughening its stance on Pakistan – with a surge in drone strikes and reduced levels of aid – as part of an effort to protect Afghanistan from cross-border attacks, according to US officials.

The issue of what to do about militant havens in Pakistan has long exercised US policy makers desperate to end America’s longest running war.

They accuse Islamabad of destabilising Afghanistan by allowing groups like the Taliban-allied Haqqani network to operate bases in its tribal areas along the mountainous border.

US officials told Reuters that the administration was now considering expanding drone strikes, redirecting or withholding American aid to Pakistan and even downgrading the country’s status as a major non-Nato ally as it reviews its Afghanistan policy.

“We’ve never really fully articulated what our strategy towards Pakistan is. The strategy will more clearly say what we want from Pakistan specifically,” a US official said.

A former official familiar with the discussions confirmed the details.

With the US poised to announce it is sending another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan, the problem of Pakistan is once again exercising Washington.

Dating back to the 1970s, Pakistan has worried that any growth in Indian influence in Kabul could leave it vulnerable to attack from two flanks. As a result, successive Pakistani governments and its military have been sympathetic to militant Islamist groups which see as protecting their interests.

Critics accuse Islamabad of allowing militant groups to use Pakistani soil to plot attacks against American and Afghan forces across the border.

Suspicions linger about how much Pakistani leaders knew about the presence of Osama bin Laden in the military town of Abbotabad.

The Pakistani military points to Operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched in 2014 to flush out groups in North Waziristan, and to its co-operation in rounding up al-Qaeda leaders after 9/11 as evidence that it is doing its best in difficult circumstances.

That has not satisfied American commanders who believe Pakistan is undermining hopes of a stable Afghanistan.

Lt Gen Vincent Stewart, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a recent congressional hearing: “They hold in reserve terrorist organizations so that if Afghanistan leans towards India, they will no longer be supportive of an idea of a stable and secure Afghanistan that could undermine Pakistan interests.”

The scale of the problem was highlighted at the end of last month when a tanker bomb exploded in the centre of Kabul, killing more than 80 people close to international embassies. Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence agency accused the Haqqani Network of carrying out the attack with assistance from Pakistani security services – an allegation denied by Islamabad.

Such accusations strengthen the hand of those who want Pakistan to do more to rein in the Haqqani Network and even argue that Islamabad should be declared a state sponsor of terrorism.

They say treating Pakistan as an ally and sending military aid has not worked.

Before becoming senior director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council, Lisa Curtis co-authored a report with Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington. Its recommendations now appear to provide a blueprint to current White House thinking.

“Accordingly, the objective of the Trump administration’s policy toward Pakistan must be to make it more and more costly for Pakistani leaders to employ a strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic goals,” they wrote. “There should be no ambiguity that the US considers Pakistan’s strategy of supporting terrorist proxies to achieve regional strategic advantage as a threat to US interests.”

They argued that Pakistan should be stripped within six months of its position as a major non-Nato ally, a status that allows priority access to US surplus equipment, unless it shows it is committed to American counter-terrorism objectives.

They also recommended increasing drone strikes, help to strengthen the civilian government against the country’s powerful army generals, setting out a timeline of steps to be taken against militant groups and enforcing counter-terrorism conditions on military aid.

Last year, the Pentagon decided not to pay Pakistan $300 million (Dh1.1m) in Coalition Support Funds after then-US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter declined to sign authorisation that Pakistan was taking adequate action against the Haqqani network.

Afghan leaders have long pushed Washington to adopt a tougher stance on Pakistan.

“I believe there will be a much harder US line on Pakistan going forward than there has been in the past,” Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan ambassador to the United States, told Reuters.

Administration officials declined to comment on the review.

“The United States and Pakistan continue to partner on a range of national security issues,” said Adam Stump, Pentagon spokesman.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae​

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

MATCH INFO

Quarter-finals

Saturday (all times UAE)

England v Australia, 11.15am 
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm

Sunday

Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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