Though the history of Pak-US relations is one akin to a rollercoaster ride encapsulating some very exciting highs of thick friendship followed by free falls to acrimony and despair, yet the current spell of coercive brinksmanship by the US establishment is something unseen in the long history of these testy relations. Within the short span of six months the much cultivated veneer of camaraderie, even diplomatic restraint, has been ripped off the face of the US government. There is nary a doubt that Pakistan Army and the ISI have been singled out, as the targets of the US ire for standing out in the way of its nefarious designs for Pakistan. With the endgame in Afghanistan entering into its final phases and the spectre of defeat looking squarely into the eyes of Americans, the time for diplomatic niceties has obviously run out. As time and opportunities slip out of Washingtons hold, it desires to attain complete liberty of action for the CIA operatives on the Pakistani soil and coerce its army to do the unqualified US bidding. The announcement of withholding $800 million due to Pakistan Army, as compensation for the services rendered in the war on terror, is the latest benchmark in the plunging course of the Pak-US bilateral relations. The Raymond Davis affair, who was taken into custody for killing two Pakistanis, in broad daylight in one of the busiest intersections of Lahore, bared the extent of impunity with which the US agents were rampaging through the Pakistani landscape in total disregard of any law or respect for rules of engagement. The arrogance in which the US chose to spirit away the killer from the grasp of Pakistani law only added to the anti-US feelings among the local population. Moreover, the unilateral US action to kill Al-Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden in an Abbottabad compound on May 2, 2011, inflicted deep and lasting dents in the tone and tenor of Pak-US relations; blowing away any lingering misperception that Pakistan and US were equal partners in the war on terror in which the country had paid dearly with the blood of thousands of its soldiers and civilians. The bitterness of betrayal, compounded by deep embarrassment caused by the blatant violation of the countrys territorial integrity rankled among the rank and file of the Pak Army. It also left the intelligence community in Pakistan thoroughly disillusioned with the in-your-face arrogance of Uncle Sam, despite having made sterling contributions to netting the Al-Qaeda big fish in the largest number. Washingtons response to the unfortunate murder of Saleem Shahzad, and the manner in which it was exploited to castigate the ISI, are symptomatic of the manner in which the US administration is exploiting the reach of its powerful media in maligning and pressurising the Pakistani military and the ISI. There has been a flurry of leaks by unnamed US government sources, which even include two Obama administration officials, to heap the blame of this lamentable murder at the doorstep of the Pakistan government bearing suggestive linkages to the ISI. There are thinly veiled threats that incriminating evidence is held by the US that would expose his murderers, yet there is a deafening silence once the Government of Pakistan calls the bluff by asking the evidence to be produced before the Independent Commission detailed to investigate Saleem Shahzads murder. The latest US ploy of singling out the Pakistani military for its punitive stoppage of $800 million should stand out as a desperate measure to bring the institution within the ambit of its effective control and conduct operations, according to the desire of the American military commanders waging a losing war in the windswept Afghan steppes. This US targeting of the army and the ISI can hardly be viewed as a pragmatic step considering the prevalent public mood, which is increasingly turning anti-American in the backdrop of the extreme damage that has been sustained by the nation in its partnership with US-led war on terror. There is an overwhelming perception that the US administrations policies in Afghanistan and Pakistans partnership in the war on terror are the major reasons behind the rise of indigenous Taliban, who are leading the wave of domestic insurgency and terrorism that has bled the country white. There is an emerging consensus that USAs Afghan policy is seeking a blueprint for a post-withdrawal Afghanistan, which does not take into account Pakistans vital interests or its tactics are cognisant of its vulnerabilities. The drone assults in FATA region with their colossal 'collateral damage are accumulating a cost which is becoming unbearable from a Pakistani perspective. Therefore, no amount of military assistance can be justified to turn the Pakistani landscape into a no-holds-barred arena for the CIA running amok and conducting operations without restraint and without the full knowledge of the ISI, circumscribed by well defined parameters of cooperation. No country in the world can tolerate such heedless liberty of action by any friendly intelligence agency, as demanded by the CIA of Pakistan. Also, the ISI has full rights to conduct counter intelligence operations on its soil without hindrance or accountability by any outside power. More so, the annoyance reflected by the American media over the apprehension of US collaborators in the wake of Abbottabad operation is unsustainable and uncalled for, because Pakistan has the right not to permit the recruitment of local spies on its soil by the CIA or any other foreign intelligence agency. The benchmarks for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan have been fixed and Pakistan has to ensure that it is not found flatfooted at the end of the day having blindly followed the US diktat. It is important, therefore, to have candid and firm discussions with the US to make it clear that close cooperation and mutual respect as partners on equal footings is essential to take the war on terror in Afghanistan and in Pakistan to a successful conclusion. While tightening the purse strings for the Pakistani army, Washington has to be cognisant that while it claims to have given Islamabad an aid of $10 billion since 9/11 - half of it compensation for using Pakistani facilities the nation (Pakistan) has already sustained a loss of $60 billion as a fallout of its partnership with US in the so-called war on terror. n The writer is a freelance columnist.