Osama bin Laden. PHOTO: REUTERS
Munter said there was a need to be patient with the ongoing political reforms in Pakistan. Munter, who is currently president of the East-West Institute — a non-governmental organisation working for conflict resolution — was speaking at a dinner hosted by the head of the Pathfinder Group in honour of former army chief General (retd) Raheel Sharif.
“Terrible mistakes had been made due to deep mistrust [between the two countries],” he added.
Munter said the Pakistan-US relations were greatly affected by two myths. The Pakistan myth is that the Americans use Pakistan when it needs and abandons it afterwards. The US myth is that Pakistan will not be a reliable partner despite getting billions of dollars in civil and military aid. “The problem is that there is a bit of truth in both these myths and that has deepened the mistrust,” he added.
Munter said that during his ambassadorial assignment in Pakistan he had tried to build a long-term relationship but incidents like the Abbottabad raid and the US airstrike on Salala check post near the Pakistan-Afghan border in which about two dozen Pakistani soldiers were killed made the matters worst.
It took the US seven long months to apologise, which further deepened the mistrust, he added. He, however, struck a positive note, saying that during the past three years, relations between the US and Pakistan had significantly improved.
Munter praised former army chief Gen (retd) Raheel Sharif, saying the “General showed a style of openness to achieve the goals”. He said that in order to build trust we have to be patient.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2017.
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