US-Pakistan relationship

Usually, when the government has one of its periodic spats with the US, there is a lot of public rhetoric directed at the Americans but, essentially, the level of cooperation between the two countries remains the same. However, this time, in the wake of the Nato attack on Pakistani security personnel in Mohmand Agency, things seems to be very different. Pakistan has already blocked the supply routes of Nato trucks travelling through the country, forced the US to vacate Shamsi airbase and threatened to shoot down drones flying over Pakistani territory. Now, it is planning on changing the very nature of its alliance with the US, going from at least an ostensible ally, to an openly unfriendly country. At a meeting of the country’s various ambassadors and high commissioners, it was recommended that the government renegotiate its pacts with the US governing the transit of Nato supplies through the country. (The existence of these pacts was publicly acknowledged only now). The policy shift would have Pakistan cooperate only if its sovereignty is not violated, language that is expansive enough to include even drone attacks that we have previously supported in private.

The US, too, seems to be rethinking its diplomatic options in Pakistan, moving swiftly from ally to hostile actor. A bill making its way through Congress would cut $700 million in aid to Pakistan. At this point, it is not surprising that either country is looking to take punitive measures as punishment for recent events. But the danger is that this could soon spiral out of control, leading to an ever-escalating war of words that rapidly evaporates whatever semblance of an alliance the two countries have. If the inquiry proves that the US is at fault in the Salala attack, it should seek to quickly defuse tensions by issuing a formal apology. After that, the onus returns on Pakistan to resume cooperation with the US in the fight against militancy. Pakistan needs to take strong measures so that the rest of the world stops seeing it as a sponsor of terrorism and as a country that provides sanctuaries to militant groups that carry out attacks in other states. Neither country can eliminate the scourge of terrorism on its own, so it is in both their interests to work together. This would require both sides to realise that they should not direct their anger against each other, but against their common enemy.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2011.