Resetting ties with US

Bilawal in debut visit, rightly underscored the need for a broad-based relationship that is not Afghanistan-centric

Pakistan has stated the obvious with reference to its policy towards the United States. Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari, in his debut visit to Washington, rightly underscored the need for a broad-based relationship, and one that should not be Afghanistan-centric. The biggest problem in the current bilateralism is that consecutive US administrations had dealt with Islamabad by looking through the jaundiced prism of upheavals in the war-torn country in Southwest Asia. Apparently, the White House incumbents and the Pentagon believe that Pakistan holds the master-key to regulate affairs in Kabul, and its influence can make the difference felt. This is why the mantra of ‘do more’ had literally strained their relations irrespective of the fact that Pakistan had done all it can to further peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. The peaceful and bloodless exit of Americans from Kabul after the Taliban 2.0 takeover is a case in point, and that could not have been possible if Islamabad had looked the other day.

Bilawal’s contention that both the countries must engage at all levels is sine qua non. Apart from security horizons, there is much to cheer between them. The US is one of Pakistan’s biggest trading partners, and its investment in science and technology and higher education is a valued asset. Moreover, one of the largest diaspora of Pakistanis in the West is US-based, and both the countries have made great strides in anti-terrorism coordination as well as intelligence gathering. These avenues go on to vindicate what Bilawal said, and that is to reset the ties on a holistic premise, rather than be suspicious of Pakistan’s role on unfounded briefs.

Having allied with the US in its war on terror, Pakistan has paid a big price. It took flak at home to merely stand fast as a partner. But its contributions were never acknowledged wholeheartedly, and this is where the bad blood sets in. Pakistan and the US, in an era of increasing interdependence, must work on a broader mosaic, and enhance cooperation at the people-to-people level as well as in the developmental strata. One hopes Bilawal’s debrief with Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pave the way for a renewed understanding on a roadmap that has no impediments.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2022.

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