巴基斯坦或封锁美国对阿富汗的补给线

Minister: Pakistan Could Block US Supply Lines to Afghanistan

A Pakistani official says his country may block supply lines into Afghanistan if relations with the United States do not improve.

In an interview with VOA, Foreign Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said the U.S. and Pakistan are currently “not speaking to each other.” Relations have worsened to a point where direct, high-level contacts are no longer happening, he said.

Besides being the country’s top diplomat¹, Khan also serves as Pakistan’s defense² minister. He blames the current state of ties on a lack of communication by the U.S. administration.

“At the moment Pakistan is not being heard,” he said. “Pakistan is just being vilified³ and castigated⁵ in Washington without being heard at all.”

Khan criticized the U.S. for urging that Pakistan be placed on an international terrorism-financing watch list. The list is made by the Financial Task Force, or FATF, which is based in Paris. The group decided⁶ in February to include Pakistan on its “gray list” of nations it sees as not doing enough to reduce the financing of terrorism.

Pakistan is required under an agreement with the FATF to work on an action plan to get itself removed from the list. If no progress is made, the country faces the possibility of being moved to the organization’s more severe "black list" of nations.

U.S. support for Pakistan’s listing was part of a South Asia policy announced by President Donald Trump⁷ in August. The U.S. administration accuses Pakistan of having ties to the Taliban and other terrorist groups that have attacked U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Part of Trump’s South Asia policy seeks to pressure Pakistan to cut ties to terrorist groups.

Pakistan denies it supports any terrorist groups. Pakistani officials say any U.S. moves to pressure the country are an attempt to blame Pakistan for international failures to end the Afghan war.

Khan says Pakistan is officially still a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The U.S. has cooperated with Pakistan on military matters although Pakistan is not a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The military alliance includes the U.S. and 28 nations from North America and Europe.

Khan noted⁸ that Pakistan has kept its ground and air lines open for American and allied⁹ nations transporting supplies to troops in Afghanistan.

But when asked whether the supply lines would remain open, Khan said Pakistan may have to “rethink” this cooperation.

“Yes, we have to consider all options that are in front of us,” he said. "Because it would appear to us that the U.S. is following what can be termed a non-violent compellence of Pakistan.”

International forces heavily depend on Pakistani territory to transport supplies. Pakistan closed the supply lines one time before. That was after a U.S. airstrike in 2011 mistakenly killed a group of Pakistani soldiers.

The action forced the U.S. and NATO for months to transport supplies through other areas by land and sea. The forces then used what came to be called the Northern Distribution Network, which runs through other countries, including Russia.

But military experts say this may not be possible again if Pakistan decided to block the supply lines. Current tense relations between the U.S. and Russia would likely prevent it, they said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

vilify¹⁰ – v. to say or write very harsh and critical things about

castigate⁴ – v. to severely¹¹ criticize

option – n. the opportunity or ability to choose something or to choose between two or more things

compellence – (not standard usage) n. the ability of one state to convince another state into action, usually by threatening punishment

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 vilified   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was vilified in newspapers. 他在报纸上受到了诽谤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was vilified by the press for her controversial views. 因她持有异议，新闻界对她横加挞伐。 来自互联网

4 castigate   

v.谴责；惩治

参考例句：

• The principal castigate the student who have insult their teacher.校长谴责对老师不敬的学生。
• Marx never lost an opportunity to castigate colonialism.马克思抓住每一个机会严厉谴责殖民主义。

5 castigated   

v.严厉责骂、批评或惩罚（某人）( castigate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He castigated himself for being so stupid. 他责怪自己太笨。
• He castigated the secretaries for their sloppy job of filing. 由于秘书们档案工作搞得马虎草率，他严厉地斥责了他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 vilify   

v.诽谤，中伤

参考例句：

• But I also do not want people to vilify.但希望我也别给人诬蔑。
• Two chose not to vilify Skilling,however.然而，也有两个人并不愿诋毁思斯奇林。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。