The writer has a master’s degree in Security and Intelligence Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. He works on the Peshawar desk of The Express Tribune
Local media also keeps on spinning this visit as if it was a negotiation between the two heads of state. This wasn’t a face-saving official visit. It’s the first time Nawaz officially met US President Barack Obama and both leaders got a chance to get acquainted with each other.
Making this trip sound as if something groundbreaking will come out of it just puts Nawaz under unnecessary pressure, considering the new prime minister remains indecisive over key policy issues, especially counterterrorism. It has been four months since the new administration took charge, but there hasn’t been any formal policy announcement on how to tackle terrorism except for the meaningless charade of all-parties conferences (APCs).
Instead, drone strikes have been illogically tied to terrorism when there isn’t empirical evidence to suggest this. In fact, evidence points to the contrary, considering the number of drone strikes against the number of terror attacks, particularly suicide ones. Blaming terrorism on drone strikes helps policymakers off the hook for their own shortcomings on successfully forming a policy or taking even an initiative.
In his speech at the United States Institute of Peace, Nawaz said the nation had formed a consensus through APCs to give peace a chance. It’s hard to rule out that the Americans would not have grilled Nawaz about the specifics of the negotiations he is planning on pursuing with the Pakistani Taliban. And this would’ve caught the prime minister off-guard because he probably doesn’t know who his administration will talk to or negotiate peace with.
Pakistani policymakers must realise that our bilateral relationship with the US is down the tubes. Resuming strategic dialogues and promises of releasing aid are just attempts at sugar-coating hollow ties. The new government keeps chasing an unreachable objective of convincing the US government to bring to an end drone strikes — the most precise lethal counterterrorism tool in its fight against terrorists which denies them safe haven in inaccessible regions.
The US is mostly concerned on domestic issues, particularly the new healthcare reforms pushed through by Obama. During Nawaz’s visit, all American newscasters and media outlets were discussing The Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare’s malfunctioning website. Nawaz was nowhere in the picture and neither was Afghanistan and its future.
Unless Pakistan tackles non-state actors acting with impunity from its territory, drone strikes must and will continue. Our non-seriousness towards counterterrorism has allowed others to intervene and clean up our house, which then violates our sovereignty. The issue will not settle down on its own somehow.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (9)
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@csmann: It would have made more sense had Sharif inquired from Obama his reasons for continuing with drone strategy and explored alternatives and provide his own suggestion of meeting Obama's objectives in alternate ways.. It would have made sense if Sharif instead of asking for US intervention in Kashmir would have inquired into US thinking on Kashmir (as if that is not already known) and avoided seeking its intervention when it is not interested. Pakistan should take Kashmir issue to UN, if it so wishes. I see this trip as a a total failure. The reason Nawaz did not get a state dinner was because like someone said this was all about giving a report card to the 'parent' and 'parent' allocating time to 'talk to' a 'problem child'.
Well, from my understanding your arguments are a bit muddled, though reasonable, your approach to drone strikes should not focus on the effects of drones on terrorism and vice versa, rather it should be based off sovereignty and general principles of Int'l Law that condemn such unilateral uses of force. As well, you are better off keeping those responsible for terrorism under the guise of 'non-state actors', to use the term terrorism or terrorists makes the matter more complicated from the perspective of whether it is legal or illegal for the United States to continue drone strikes in the absence of Pakistani consent.
W.r.t to the last paragraph, have you considered drone strikes as an impediment to the Pak people and army's ability to combat these non-state actors ? If there were no drone strikes maybe there would be a greater desire on behalf of the Pak government and army to act, and maybe, if an innocent's family had not mistakenly perished from a drone attack he (and others like him/her) would not join the Madrassas and wage war against the west, putting us at a disadvantage.
Author say "Unless Pakistan tackles non-state actors acting with impunity from its territory, drone strikes MUST and will continue."
I am kind of surprised the author saying the Drone strikes must continue, pending any meaningful acts from the Government against terrorists. This is the first in the Pakistan media i see somebody fully endorsing Drone strikes.
Even majority in Indian media are against drone strikes, in spite of our differences.
The country is being handed over to out pet heroes, the Non-State-Actors.
The author has hit the nail on the head. I was shocked that Nawaz meeting Obama was not covered even with a column inch of space in any of the leading and respected publications --- shows the relevance of Pakistan to Americans. The sooner the Government can come up with something positive to offer in its relations with other countries the better, else Pakistan's relevance will be on par with Afghanistan. Not too late for Pakistan to cut the influence of its Military on policy, if it wants to reclaim credibility through sincere and honest actions.
Some good points made by the author. High time Pak cleans up its mess
Sharif's dithering stance and incoherent-and inconsistent- rhetoric is there for all to see. However, drones are not just an issue of violating our sovereignty-since we have already ceded that to non state actors- but of human rights violations. The fact that human rights violations with persecution of non-Muslims, shias and Ahmedis, women, the poor, etc makes us seem hypocritical when we harp on about drones. We do need to set our house in order and even if talks are not the answer, action must be taken by our military and civil government without allowing others- or giving them the opportunity- to use such inhumane methods as drones which cause more civilian casualties than take out high value targets. Obama's war has been a failure and the farcical face saving statements are laughable at best.
This trip is just as much news as a dunce going to the Principal's office to explain his yearly report card (as HedgeFunder put it so eloquently recently).
“Mr. Sharif came to discuss other things. But it seemed as if it was only about drones,” said Adil Najam, a professor of international relations at Boston University. ---New York Times