Thank you, Raymond — I

People have always held an opinion on America but never an outpouring and an outrage.

Not too far back, I was interviewed by an American journalist on Pakistan’s prevailing security environment and the likely prognosis. On what might nudge Pakistan towards operation in North Waziristan, my response was that it shall have to tie in with benefits to Pakistan’s strategic objectives, along with questions of resource availability and a risk-and-cost analysis. I was asked if more money would do it. I was told that we were alongside discussing individual dispositions at various tiers, and that may have given relevance to the issue of financial incentives. I must admit I was shocked at the audacity of such a suggestion. The journalist has been living in the country since and should have known better. Or, perhaps not. It really depends where someone’s Pakistan begins and ends. My considered response within the realm of politeness was that, while some of us were quite ready to be sold, this nation, as of now, wasn’t.

Three recent events in Pakistan-US relations signify a varying trajectory from the popular perception on the nature of these relations and their unidirectional emphasis. Somewhere in October 2010, after America’s persistent call to ‘do more’, Pakistani interlocutors at the strategic dialogue with Washington presented President Obama with a Pakistani version of what might help both countries reach a consensual end-state in Afghanistan. It also clearly underlined why Pakistanis at large doubt American intent and level of commitment and sensitivity to Pakistani interests. Joe Biden’s last visit to Pakistan was intended to alleviate some of those perceptions from that level. In the intervening period, the incessant calls for Pakistan to act in North Waziristan subsided; they remain on the back burner with an odd statement, supportive of Pakistan’s choice of the timeline. Pakistan countered American pressure on the basis of reason and came out well.

This was followed by an armed incursion by US/Nato forces of Pakistan’s border and deliberate attacks on a Pakistani post. Pakistan retaliated by suspending supplies and closing the more frequently used route to Afghanistan. Infrequent torching of American supplies continues, though not of any state collusion. The US, highly dependent on Pakistan’s logistic facilitation, regretted the incident, promised retribution where neglect was determined, and assured no recurrence. An odd incident has repeated, but never as grave, nor as deliberate. But the red lines of this cooperative relation were reinforced in no uncertain way.

The above two occasions were more state responses than popular sentiment. People have always held an opinion on America, swayed by the sentiment of opportune anti-Americanism, reinforced to a considerable measure by the adverse fallout of the ongoing war against terror and the inequities of this relationship. But never an outpouring and an outrage. Thanks to Raymond Davis, or whatever his real name is, the occasion has brought forth an opportunity for precisely this to happen.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2011.