With President Donald Trump’s new policy getting final touches, Pakistan is ironically unhinged by a political storm
PESHAWAR: The evolving American policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan will predictably promote Washington’s interest in a volatile region. At best, Pakistan will be fobbed off with minuscule military assistance if it meets certain harsh conditions the US House of Representatives has attached to the proposed aid.
For American aid to reach Islamabad, the US defence secretary will have to testify that the Pakistani military has taken conclusive action against the Haqqani network. This affirmation will be given only when Islamabad decisively cracks down on the Haqqanis, who are allegedly hiding in the tribal terrain near the Afghanistan border.
Kabul has blamed the insurgent network for a string of deadly assaults in the neighboring country, asking Pakistan to move swiftly against the group. As a result, Pak-Afghan relations have plummeted to a new low, along with the hopes for bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation. What is crystal clear is that terrorism is a common enemy that can be defeated through combined efforts.
Additionally, cooperation with Afghanistan on dealing with common challenges is also in Pakistan’s interest. As for our ties with the US, we have been giving up on the fundamental principle of state sovereignty. We have long been seeking aid at the expense of our core national interests.
With President Donald Trump’s new policy getting final touches, Pakistan is ironically unhinged by a political storm triggered by the Panama scandal. The ongoing struggle here is for political survival and not sovereignty. As they say beggars cannot be choosers, we should gratefully accept the alms dropped into our begging bowl.
M Afzal Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2017.
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