WASHINGTON, Jan 3: As Republicans took charge of the US Congress, a senior lawmaker urged the Obama administration to establish permanent military bases in Afghanistan to stabilise the country and also to persuade Pakistan to change its behaviour towards the Taliban.

“It would be enormously beneficial to the region as well as Afghanistan,” said Senator Lindsay Graham, a senior member of the Republican Party.

“A couple of air bases in Afghanistan would allow the Afghan security forces an edge against the Taliban in perpetuity. It would be a signal to Pakistan, the Taliban are never going to come back in Afghanistan and it could change their behaviour,” he added.

In an interview to NBC News, the senator insisted that establishing permanent bases in Afghanistan would send a signal to the whole region that “Afghanistan is going to be a new and different place”.

A couple of air bases in Afghanistan, he said, would give the United States and the Afghan security forces an edge militarily to ensure that the country never went back into the hands of the Taliban and the move would be “a stabilising advance” throughout the whole region.

But the request for establishing such bases has to come from the Afghan people, the senator said.

“And if the Afghan people want this relationship they are going to have to earn it,” he said. “But I hope that they will seek a relationship with the United States before we can have an enduring relationship, economic and militarily and politically.”

But the chief spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai told a briefing in Kabul on Monday that the Afghan government had not discussed the issue of setting up permanent US military bases in the country with the Americans.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

An audit of polio funds at federal and provincial levels is sorely needed, with obstacles hindering eradication efforts targeted.
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...