PHOTO: REUTERS
They recommended that the US and Pakistan need to find a middle ground and find compromises to work together towards shared mutual interests, especially in Afghanistan because both sides have had physical, psychological, and social wounds due to the four-decade long war in the region.
At the moot organised by the Islamabad Police Research Institute (IPRI) scholars of international relations said that stability and order in Afghanistan is a primary interest of both Pakistan and the US. However, bilateral relations between the three countries should also develop independent of each other.
Think beyond security in Pak-US ties: speakers
According to eminent scholars at the think-tank conference, there should be consistency and no ambiguity in Pakistan’s foreign policy and stances.
Trust deficit
Ambassador (retd) Shahid MG Kiani chaired the session on ‘Approaches to Overcome Trust Deficit’. National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies Associate Dean Dr Tughral Yamin in his presentation on Afghanistan Crisis and Pakistan-US Disagreements on Operational Aspects of Countering Terrorism, said both countries realize the importance of the other, but each has its own priorities.
“Depending on the circumstances each has its own expectations of the other; and these expectations usually don’t match, which leads to a trust deficit and souring of relations,” he explained.
Dr Yamin said that relations between the US and Pakistan have deteriorated and been ‘downgraded’ since US President Donald Trump’s administration began taking a hard line on Afghanistan in 2017.
He pointed out that while Pakistan’s new government is already trying to reset relations with the US, they also need to build trust with the Afghan government. The volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has dropped from $2.5 billion to a mere $500 million in a few years.
Continuity or change
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor Dr Rasul Baksh Rais in his presentation on Pakistan-US Relations under Trump Administration: Continuity or Change discussed the Afghan endgame and Pakistan-US relations and contended that wars cannot be won decisively.
Dr Baksh pointed out that on the Pakistan side, there is both a feeling of stalemate and desperation in its relations with the US due to the withdrawal of security assistance, President Trump’s tweet on Pakistan, denial of funds, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US pressure. He concluded that for Pakistan-US relations, Afghanistan remains the point of convergence since peace in that region is in the interest of both countries.
Way forward
Former Minster for Defence Lt Gen (retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi chaired the last session titled Pakistan-US Relations: Way Forward.
Author and journalist Nasim Zehra was of the view that the bolstering and belligerence coming out of Washington is its new language and the new world disease, and is not likely to change any time soon. According to her, downturn in relations with Pakistan is largely due to the US self-serving narrative in Washington to justify its failures in Afghanistan and blaming them on Pakistan.
The paradox of Afghanistan haunts US-Pak relationship, Zehra remarked. She stressed that fundamental recalibration in the Pakistan-US relationship really lies in Pakistan’s hands not with the US. Pakistan needs to reduce its expectations from the US in a substantive and consistent way; and work to improve its relations with its neighbourhood.
Imran must keep working relations with Iran
Dr Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, Associate Professor at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad in his speech proffered that the Pakistan-US relationship is both fascinating and complex. But, while one can stress the need for improvements in Pakistan’s foreign policy, the foreign office has successfully navigated its relationship with the US and China simultaneously and this is an important success of the country’s foreign policy. ‘We need to continue this navigation instead of picking one side or the other.’ Pakistan-US have only focused on interests rather than on an ideational framework like with China. ‘To consolidate our relationship with the US, we’ve to move beyond a historically transactional relationship and adopt an ideational imperative and paradigm,’ he recommended.
Concluding the two-day conference, Acting President IPRI, Brig (R) SI(M) Sohail Tirmizi thanked the distinguished chairpersons, speakers and participants for their enthusiastic participation. He said that the conference discussions were exhaustive and extremely productive in highlighting various challenges and the prospects for improving the Pakistan-US relationship. ‘
The discourse over the last two days has been cohesive, intellectually rewarding and practical, and will be shared with policymakers within the Government of Pakistan. The proceedings will also be published in the form of a book,’ he announced.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2018.
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