Trump admin determined to take regional look at Af-Pak issue

The Trump administration is determined to take a regional perspective on the Afghan- Pakistan issue, the White House said on Thursday, noting that the previous regimes have "not done enough" to address the challenges in the war-torn country. The White House is currently in the middle of review of its Af-Pak policy, which is expected to be ready before the NATO Summit in Brussels in about a months time. Early this week, US Defence Secretary James Mattis made an unscheduled trip to Afghanistan, the first member of President Donald Trump s Cabinet to visit Kabul.

His Afghanistan trip was preceded by that of the National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster who also travelled to Pakistan and India. While on the face of it the Trump administration seems to be focused on North Korea and against the Islamic State terror group in the Middle East, it has not taken its eyes off Afghanistan.Early this month, the US used the 'mother of all bombs' against ISIS hideouts in Afghanistan and has been holding intense discussion with its allies on the current situation in Afghanistan.

"We are in the midst of a policy review, so I don t really want to foreclose on any of the discussions we're going to have with the national security team and with the president," a senior official said.AGENCIES