US Afghan war commission seeks Pakistan’s perspective
Congressional commission reviewing Washington's 20-year Afghan engagement meets Pakistan's army chief in Rawalpindi
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — The U.S. Afghanistan War Commission has sought Pakistan’s perspective on the two-decade Afghan conflict as it conducts a comprehensive review of Washington’s military, diplomatic and strategic engagement in the country.
A delegation led by co-chairs Shamila N. Chaudhary and Colin K. Jackson met army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, according to Pakistan’s military media wing, ISPR, which said the talks covered Pakistan’s support, the regional security environment and developments in Afghanistan.
Munir set out Pakistan’s view of the security dynamics that shaped the war and stressed that any assessment must weigh the regional perspective and Pakistan’s own experience; the delegation, ISPR said, acknowledged Pakistan’s role and sacrifices — the account of a meeting relayed by the Pakistani military.
Established by Congress in December 2021, the bipartisan 16-member commission is examining U.S. decisions on the war from September 2001 to the August 2021 withdrawal, and Pakistan has emerged as a distinct focus: its second interim report named “Pakistan’s pivotal role: leverage and constraints” as one of 12 major themes.
The commission’s assessment recognises Pakistan’s part in early U.S. counterterrorism operations and its supply routes for coalition forces, while also examining the long dispute over Islamabad’s policy toward the Taliban and allegations of militant sanctuaries — tensions that peaked around the 2011 Abbottabad raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the NATO airstrikes at Salala that killed Pakistani soldiers the same year.
For Islamabad, the review is a chance to put its account — including the heavy human and economic toll it suffered as violence spread across the country — onto the official U.S. record.
The commission, which has conducted hundreds of interviews and gathered thousands of records, was granted a one-year extension in August, with its final report now due in August 2027.
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