Pak- US relations in the past can be best compared to a roller coaster ride, with its sudden highs and lows and dangerous twists and turns. This strange relationship has seen mutual warmth when strategic interests of both countries converged like in the Afghan jihad against Soviet occupation forces in the last century.
When Pakistan refused to roll back its nuclear program it faced severe US economic/ military sanctions. Can we forget the deep mutual mistrust and even accusations of playing double games as seen during the war against terrorism in Afghanistan?
This relationship suffered severe setbacks after series of events in 2011 including the Raymond Davis episode, the May 2 Abbottabad ‘Get Osama’ operation by US special forces, the massacre of 26 Pakistan Army soldiers at Salalah by US/Nato airstrikes and the subsequent Pakistani suspension of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan.
The Army Chief’s two week visit to the US and his special meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry may have helped to revive the traditional relationship of cooperation between General Headquarters and Pentagon in the overall context of Pak – US relations.
Are we seeing another round of warming up and convergence of strategic interests as the US acknowledges Pakistan’s role in restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan? Will Secretary John Kerry’s just concluded visit and the typical diplomatic, sweet honey coated terms of ‘greater security/intelligence cooperation’ or ‘progress towards set goals’ leads towards reduction in the Pak – US trust deficit and a strained relationship between the two countries witnessed in last few years? Are Pak – US relations being redefined and reset for the future?
After all our sacrifices including the loss of 50, 000 plus civilian and military lives and around a 100 billion dollars setback to Pakistan’s economy in this unjustified war, Pakistan deserved an apology for President Obama’s preference to visit India only instead of also coming over to Pakistan. One only hopes that the Pakistani leadership gathered enough courage to convey their displeasure to Kerry in this respect.
While John Kerry acknowledged that Pakistan’s ongoing military operations in North Waziristan had significantly disrupted terrorist activities, he still harped on the traditional American ‘do more’ mantra calling for more action against the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Afghan Taliban. Was the US Secretary of State ignorant about the ongoing Operation Zarb –e Azab in North Waziristan that targeted militant groups and destroyed their sanctuaries without any discrimination? By mentioning Lashkar –e Taiba, was he not playing especially to the Indian gallery?
Simply declaring the Tehreek –e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader, Maulvi Fazal ullah a global terrorist and freezing his assets was not enough. If Pakistan is still being asked to ‘do more’ then the US needs to do much more to redress its wrongdoings in Afghanistan.
Pakistan holds the US and Nato responsible for turning a blind eye towards Indians’ active support including equipping/ training/ funding to the Baloch rebels from bases in Afghanistan. Furthermore, why did the US and Nato fail to block TTP militants from crossing over and allowed them to establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan especially as a result of Operation Zarb –e Azab?
John Kerry declared that the US role in Afghanistan was changing, not ending. With over 10,000 US troops still active in Afghanistan and given the dubious role of Afghan Army/ intelligence, the US should play the lead role in destroying TTP’s bases in Afghanistan. Kerry should have vowed that Fazal ullah, Pakistan’s most wanted terrorist, would be handed over dead or alive to Pakistan.
Pakistanis ask why US drone attacks were directed only against anti US militants operating on thePak – Afghan border? Should we believe that the US remains unaware of Fazal ullah’s hideouts on the Afghan side? If Pakistan cannot strike TTP bases in Afghanistan as this would violate international law, then why is the US delaying drone strikes to take out Fazal ullah?
While both the Pakistan and Afghan leadership has reiterated their commitment not to allow use of their soil for terrorist acts against any other country, Kerry should have also declared his support for Pakistan’s persistent demand that Afghanistan would not be used by any other foreign power to destabilize Pakistan. When Kerry talked about the Army Public school tragedy he must have been aware that it certainly had linkages with RAW’s Afghanistan network.
It remains to be seen what steps the US takes to push both Afghan and Indian governments to dismantle India’s RAW led security/intelligence network in Afghanistan that plays a key role in masterminding TTP’s attacks against the Pakistan Army / civilian population from bases in Afghanistan. The new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani seems to be a visionary leader and is ready to enhance security/ economic cooperation with Pakistan. But are the Indians ready to give up this role?
By virtue of being trained and equipped by India’s RAW, the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) is considered RAW’s extension. If peace is to return to Afghanistan then it is important that this RAW-NDS nexus against Pakistan should be undone to prevent proxy wars between India and Pakistan in Afghan territory in the near future.
The US Secretary of State also expressed his concern over the spate of violence on Kashmir’s Line of Control and working boundary but stopped short of calling for an end to India’s aggressive posturing ever since PM Modi assumed power last year. For obvious reasons, Kerry did not respond to Sartaj Aziz’s statement that there can be no dialogue with India without Kashmir being on the agenda.
If the US is keen to implement its new goal of ‘regional connectivity’ that aims to open up energy/ trade corridors of central Asian states via Afghanistan and Pakistan onto India, then it must impress upon India to follow a policy of cooperation and not confrontation with Pakistan.
As the Americans extricate themselves from the humiliation of their longest military campaign after Vietnam, the AF-PAK region remains destabilized, burning and bleeding. For the US the Osama Bin Laden era is over. It has smartly announced that the Afghan Taliban are no longer their enemy.
This was never our war. We were forced into it and made to suffer till it became our war. Pakistanis were pitted against each other. For Pakistan, the lessons of history are clear. Never again should Pakistan support or fight somebody else’s war and never again should we compromise our national interests.
The writer is a retired brigadier and a political/defence analyst and columnist.