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Pakistan’s love-hate relationship with the US

Once upon a time what united Pakistanis was hatred against India. Now we have the US.
Amna Lone October 13, 2011
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Once upon a time what united Pakistanis was hatred against India. Now the nation has set its sights higher: it is now the US that brings out the worst passions in us. India has quietly receded to the background despite the fact that it is busy building dams on rivers allotted to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty and is massively upgrading its army’s arsenal.

On the other hand, the US, which has come to our aid every time we started a needless conflict, has become enemy number one. Had the US not forced India to cease fire during the 1965, 1971 and 1999 conflicts, as well as the 2001 and 2008 standoffs, the consequences for Pakistan could have been disastrous.

Added to this is the fact that the US is Pakistan’s largest donor. It is one of the biggest markets for our exports and one of the major sources of our remittances.

And we are ready for the sake of a few thankless Afghans to take on the might of the US, never mind the negative impact that it may have on our economic well-being and international reputation. For those who think that without the Haqqani network and other Taliban outfits, we will lose our toehold in Afghanistan to India, let me assure them that we already have. Just as in the past, the Haqqanis and other armed Afghan outfits being pampered by us today will turn against us tomorrow.

During the days of Taliban-run Afghanistan, the war-ravaged country became a sanctuary to the most hardened sectarian terrorist outfits that had killed countless numbers of our innocent Shiite and non-Muslim countrymen. Every time Pakistan would ask the Taliban to expel them, they would refuse, citing the Pashtunwali code. The Haqqanis, who today are linked to Pakistan, will do exactly the same tomorrow.

If Pakistan does not withdraw support for the Haqqani network, it will surely become an international pariah, and the day would not be far when its name would be taken with the likes of North Korea and Syria.
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WRITTEN BY:
Amna Lone A sub-editor for The Express Tribune’s editorial pages.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

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COMMENTS (26)

Anonymous | 13 years ago | Reply Islamic Republic of Pakistan is an independent country, which means that we are fully capable to take care of our needs, self reliant and complacent like Islam teaches us to be. We do not rely on shortcuts for realization of our needs. By the grace of our Creator, we have been seasoned to work hard and achieve the impossible. The elite on powerful positions do not in anyway represent the opinion of general public. In their sinister yet sadly successful efforts, public is kept so busy in their basic problems that they never really get to question them on where was the foreign aid money utilized and why was it even asked for in the first place? The financial aid will not do us any good, since more than this amount already stays in the bank accounts of some of our narcissistic leaders, who occupy the ‘seats’ but are indifferent towards the distress of the majority. Through this blog, I urge Americans to ask their government whether the aid packages it sends is really helping us or are they helping our government with their lifestyles and luxuries? They should leave the treachery of aiding us on the face and stabbing us at our backs. I think it’s high time to let US know that we are not beggars! Our leaders may be but we are NOT! It’s time to let them know that we will not tolerate any foreign interventions, in any form whatsoever at all.
Ahsan Nisar | 13 years ago | Reply As much as I will like to say that we are free, independent and sovereign state and people, the fact of the matter is that we are not. The sooner we realize it, the better. I will not blame the US or any other so-called super-power for all of our problems and ills. We must develop the guts and the grit ‘to call spade a spade’ and look deep down into our own hearts, souls and minds before blaming anybody else. If the US is attacking our land and people in the name of the so-called ‘war on terror’ it is only because of our feeble and weak leadership. If the US is doing what it wants in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, nobody else but we as a nation and its so-called ’servant leadership’ is to be blamed. We must understand that the US and all other countries work only for their ‘own vested interest’ in the guise of ‘national interest’ and as long as we don’t do the same, we will not be able to become a real ‘free and independent state’ Nevertheless, I can still see some light at the end of the tunnel. Pakistani people, by which I mean ordinary Pakistanis like you and me, are hard-working, patriotic, understanding, intelligent and pretty smart people. If we can be successful overseas, why not in our own land? It is these people of the land of the pure that I consider as the greatest asset of Pakistan and come what may, they will keep on trying to make their ‘each tomorrow’ better than today.
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