The mess up in Abbottabad created by our intelligence failure has weakened Pakistan’s position in talks with the US Senator Kerry practically repeated, albeit in more refined language, President Bush’s well known proposition “Are you with us or against us?” He received the same reply, albeit in more convoluted verbiage. The visit has saved Pak-US alliance, for the time being at least. Its continuation though would depend upon the unspecified steps that Pakistan is required to take in days to come. The visit by Hillary Clinton to continue the strategic dialogue would be preceded by the arrival of a number of US functionaries in Islamabad who would monitor the progress over the steps Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has agreed to take. The Secretary of State would decide on the basis of their report whether to make the visit or not. What Senator Kerry told a select gathering of journalists explains the point. Pakistan, he said, has agreed to do a number of things immediately to demonstrate its further seriousness of purpose including accepting visits by these officials. The Damocles sword thus continues to hang over Pakistan’s head.
It is widely understood that Pakistan is being required to initiate a military operation in North Waziristan. The day Sen. Kerry was holding talks with Pakistan’s civil and military leadership, two drone attacks were conducted in the Agency. This was a grim reminder that if Pakistan does not take out those the US considers high value targets, Washington would do the job unilaterally. Coming as they do in the wake of the parliamentary resolution which, inter alia, calls on the government to take measures to stop the drone attacks, the incident should be an embarrassment for the government.
The hope that there would be a respite, if not cessation, to terrorist activities after Osama was no more alive turned out to be futile on Tuesday when terrorists shot dead a Saudi diplomat in Karachi. This should serve as another reminder that Pakistan has no option but to reconsider its security doctrine and devote all its civil and military resources to uproot all terrorist groups operating from inside the country once and for all.
