An ally that isn’t

Pakistan knows more than a thing or two about being treated badly. Just ask any Pakistani citizen who has suffered indignities, including enduring humiliating security pat-downs and hours of questioning, at the hands of America’s Homeland Security and immigration officials or at that country’s diplomatic missions in any of Pakistan’s cities. Most of us choose to swallow our pride, abandon our feelings of hurt and get on untroubled with our travel agendas as best as we can. So forgive us if we don’t quite understand it when the top diplomat of the United States, Mike Pompeo, complains about how poorly Pakistan treats America’s diplomats. And no this is not related to the diminishing assistance programmes that Washington offers us. We may be indebted to them for that but it does not enslave us in any way.  Yes, relations between the two erstwhile allies have dipped in recent years, thanks in large measure to the fickle-mindedness of our fair-weathered friends.

Lest we forget, it was Pakistan’s troops that were attacked by US forces at Salala. It was also US contractor Raymond Davis that shot and killed two Pakistani nationals. And years later another serving diplomat that ran over one of our citizens. Yet none of these individuals was made to pay for their black deeds. What if a Pakistani national had slain a US citizen. Would they have been allowed to leave scot-free? In case Washington does not catch our drift, let us be as clear as possible. The way the US diplomats get treated is directly linked to the way Washington treats our diplomats and our citizens. Reciprocity may not exactly bury the past, but at least it will restore some of the wounded pride.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2018.

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