Maintains there is little basis for a strategic relationship. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
ISLAMABAD:
The Abbottabad Commission, in its report, has observed that while Pakistan has paid the price for its relationship with the US, the government has seldom been honest about it with the country’s people.
“This relationship has been on a rollercoaster ever since it began,” says the commission’s report.
“Governments in Pakistan have seldom been honest [about the relationship with the US] with their own people, leading to inevitable crises of expectations, disappointments and negative consequences. It has never been a genuine people to people, transparent or honest relationship,” it adds.
Although it notes that this is inevitable to some extent in any country’s relationship with a world power, it calls for a need to free Pakistan-US relations from ‘false assumptions’.
“The US and Pakistan may share some policy objectives but there is not a sufficient basis for a strategic partnership between them. US policies towards the region in which Pakistan is situated make that impossible,” the report states. According to it, the relationship has been based largely on Pakistan’s dependency on US economic and military assistance, and the contingent utility of Pakistan for the US.
“[The relationship] is not rooted in a tradition of shared culture, political perceptions and strategic interests… More often it has pretended to be a strategic relationship without being one, except for brief durations of overlapping interests.”
Nevertheless, according to the commission, the relationship has been ‘mutually beneficial’ at its best.
The report notes that India has been the strategic partner of choice in South Asia for the US since the end of the cold war. It contends that Washington’s discriminatory policy on civil-nuclear cooperation and its repeated violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty means that many Pakistanis view it as the primary external threat the country faces today. It adds that the US’s likely post-2014 policies in Afghanistan, the ‘very real’ threat of a war against Iran, its emerging hostility towards China and strategic partnership with India places ‘definite and undeniable strategic limits’ on its relationship with Pakistan.
“Once this is honestly accepted, a healthy and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship will become more feasible.”
Regarding the policies of former president Pervez Musharraf in the immediate post-9/11 environment, the report maintains that “Pakistan chose to become an unenthusiastic ally of the US in its war on terror in Afghanistan.”
It adds that while there were several UN resolutions on terrorism and the arrest of Osama bin Laden, there was no specific UN Security Council resolution authorising the military invasion of Afghanistan.
“For its connivance in the illegal US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan was duly rewarded in 2004 with the status of Major Non-Nato Ally and a substantial military and civilian assistance package. This soon led to a loose and largely unsupervised visa regime for Americans, allowing the CIA to spread its tentacles throughout Pakistan. This was in fact a condition of American assistance; it ultimately facilitated the unilateral manhunt of OBL.”
According to the report, cooperation between the US Central Intelligence Agency and Inter Services Intelligence led to the arrests and elimination of hundreds of terrorists, including several high value targets (HVT) associated with al Qaeda. It states the ISI conducted 891 operations against al Qaeda members, killing 866 – including a hundred senior figures – and apprehending 922 operatives – including 96 HVTs.
The cost of such cooperation for Pakistan, however, has been substantial, both in terms of blood and economic burden, the report maintains.
“Many tens of thousands of civilian lives and many thousands of military lives have been lost. Many more have been seriously wounded and crippled for life. Many hundreds of thousands of civilians were internally displaced from their homes by military operations. Similarly, illegal US drone attacks have taken their toll of human lives, and have inflicted massive physical injury, property destruction, psychological trauma and political alienation in Pakistan.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2013.
COMMENTS (18)
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this is a very shocking thing to have been revealed and it is very hard to predict how this will make the politics of both the countries turn or twist. It is also of serious concern to the people of Pakistan who i believe have been treated as "trying to tame" and "domesticate" from this hineous act. Harboring OBL is one such act and then trying to hide the information from the people another such act. It is a shame for the country to have been addressed as the country ruled by the spies. To not have ben noticed even by the ministers what the military was doing beneath its nose is, an unexcusable remark. This is the very evidence of how weak the norms and the values and the principle of the Pakistani constitution has been proven. This wasn't clearly the framers intention.
@Haris Chaudhry: it depends upon the circumstances. in 70s and 90s India blamed CIA. for all it's problems but now two countries are strategies partners. the truth is no two countries can be partners purely on sentimental grounds. In those days India was not perceived beneficial. to US interests but the situation is changed.furthet it's never a partnership of equals... in olden days USSR was equal and now China is equal to US in status... still there is no sign of PARTNERSHIP.
running with the hare and hunting with the hound seems to be the polocy
Pakistan claims its rooted in tradition and shared culture with Arabs ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ But which Arab country? Saudi? Kuwait? Oman? Bahrain? UAE? Scratching my head.........till dandruff forms a mountain.
"“[The relationship] is not rooted in a tradition of shared culture,"
If this criteria is used, only India, Afghanistan and Iran will qualify to be real friends of Pakistan. On the contrary Pakistan has very poor relations with all these three neighbors. All three can not be wrong. May be a so called Hindu India is bad. how about brotherly Afghanistan and Iran ?
“[The relationship] is not rooted in a tradition of shared culture, political perceptions and strategic interests…"" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On Pakistans part the relationship is rooted in getting US Military support to be sued against India the arch enemy. Ditto for Paki-Chna relationship. In its anti India quest Pakistan permits itself to be exploited but thats all right.
@It Is (still) Economy Stupid: let us not blame anybody,our elders at any place or appointment are rogue,rascal,cheat, looters and full of keyna,bhogus,lalach,assad what else is need to destroy oneself this is enough why to blame any country or hanoud o nasira .
@It Is (still) Economy Stupid: let us not blame anybody,our elders at any place or appointment are rogue,rascal,cheat, looters and full of keyna,bhogus,lalach,assad what else is need to destroy oneself this is enough why to blame any country or anhoud o nasira .
" DOLLAR KI TALASH "is our motto none is to be blamed,accept top ranking bureaucrats, generals,politicians,journalists,big maulanas and now judges toeing the line.
This hand shake sign cost us too much during last six decades and still ruining us in all dimension any thing which is left handover to KSA/UAE.We lost our unity,faith &disciplined for them.We are at fault selling everything.
You are absolutely wrong. UN resolution 1386 of 20 December 2001 authorizes the deployment of an International Security Force for Afghanistan. It was based on this resolution that over thirty countries contributed forces to ISAF in Afghanistan.
There is no harm in criticizing the US and a hundred other countries too, however Pakistan chose to have a certain kind of relationship with the US by offering its services for some Quid Pro Quo. The Quid Pro Quo was not clearly explained to citizens of either country. It offered its services to fight Communism and target the Soviet Union in Afghanistan for Civilian and Military Aid (Money and Weapons). When the rationale for decision making is kept vague, citizens will make their own assumptions, more so in an conspiracy ridden and ideologically driven country like Pakistan. A relationship based on opportunism has limited usefulness of course till one of the parties decides it has been taken for a ride.
The tone and tenor of the Report suggests that Pakistan was taken for a ride by the US. Whether right or wrong this perception does not find many takers in the International community, primarily because Pakistan has been less than truthful about its relationships and links with various terror groups. A new relationship is fine but it is unlikely to be cast in a manner that helps promote duplicity. The Commission made an excellent recommendation that there should be no verbal Agreements between Governments or Spy agencies, every detail should be minuted and put in writing. Knowing how Pakistan and the US operate it is unlikely to happen, however it must be insisted on by Parliament.
The core of the dispute between Pakistan and the International community is that Pakistan wants to continue its policy of patronizing certain terror groups while asking the International community for help in targeting others, when the World believes the ideological orientation, goals and methods of all the groups is the same and they are inter connected in many ways. The country will continue to flounder if this dichotomy is not addressed and urgently resolved.
"The Abbottabad Commission, in its report, has observed that while Pakistan has paid the price for its relationship with the US, the government has seldom been honest about it with the country’s people." US taxpayers have been asking the exact same question since 2001. Are we getting value for money sent to Pakistan and 99% of people think No.
pak is best known in the world as a double faced disillusioned nation that cannot be trusted, ... we have worked hard to earn this deserving title
The true and real responsibility goes to the Pakistan Army, Security Establishment and Security Agencies who had and has been totally and badly fail, incompetent in securing country sovereignty, integrity, Nation honor and serve the land. They must realized and own the failure and extreme act of irresponsibility. They must honestly realize their internal faults, weaknesses in faith and gapes among. This was the matter of not a person, but it’s the matter of country sovereignty and entire national honor. Infarct either there was an allied mutual interest beyond the boundaries, mutual agenda and surreptitious hidden compromises or the lack of faith in performing their duties even it the cost of their lives. None of the country either its USA or any they must respect the sovereignty and integrity of the other countries or diversity in the rest of the world as per moral valves, international law and rules of business else such actions must be consider as violation, humiliation, occupation and terrorism and must be treat as potential risk of the world peace. Any act of terrorism by the name of propaganda terrorism must not be tolerated and the world and especially the UN must take notice of such violent attitude. With the guarantee that such failure either internal or external must not be repeated and the country and nation along with humanity must be safeguards at any cost.
Taking the people along will be necessary for any successful foreign policy. Is Nawaz Sharif listening? Moreover, by people I do not just mean consultation with political personages, Parliament and political parties. The Government would have to come out and address public meetings across the nation.
A "strategic relationship" with a country where 80% of the people blame US for all its ills even though it has been the largest donor to Pakistan since its birth from 1947 to this day !
"Strategic relationship" with a nation that considers murderous thugs that blow thousands of innocents 'a better people' than USA ??
Strategic partnership with those that still think 9/11 was orchestrated by CIA and Jewish lobby and OBL is still alive ?
Let's do some cold hard introspection on how we have behaved globally before we expect a super power to share 'strategic interest' with a country like ours !!
Neither has it ever been honest with US !
That is why we are called a 'double-dealing' nation !