The “do more” mantra not only continues but this time it significantly carries a warning also that the Abbottabad operation can be replicated. Without mincing her words, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conveyed Washington’s message to all those who matter in Islamabad to “take decisive steps to defeat al Qaeda”. This unmistakably implies that if Pakistan had been doing enough, the situation would not come to a point for the US Navy SEALs to raid Osama bin Laden’s hideout inside Pakistan’s territory. What Clinton meant by “decisive steps” was that Pakistan must prove through its actions that neither it was “complicit” nor was it “incompetent”.
The action will speak for intentions. And time is short as the United States wants a significant, not token, withdrawal from Afghanistan by June – a political compulsion for President Barack Obama.
She did give the benefit of doubt to the civil and military leadership to keep them engaged, saying that her country had “absolutely no evidence” that anyone at the highest level in Pakistan knew where Osama was. But she insisted that the Pakistani leadership did admit that “somebody, somewhere” was providing support to Osama. This admission confirms the existence of a network that supports and facilitates al Qaeda. Unearthing this network is now a real test of our Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to dissociate itself from the allegation that there are “rogue elements” in its folds.
Clinton’s visit to Islamabad had been scheduled to take place in the month of May even before the Abbottabad operation, but the dates were not decided. Though the May 2 operation jeopardised the visit, Washington and Islamabad remained engaged with each other despite a difficult situation – Congress pressurising the administration in Washington to cut aid and tighten the noose around Islamabad and the hawks in Pakistan demanding the government to separate the country from the US-led war against terror.
But Clinton candidly communicated through media to the Pakistani civil and military leadership that Islamabad “has a responsibility to help us, help Afghanistan by preventing insurgents from waging war from Pakistan’s territory… this was an especially important visit because we have reached a turning point… Osama bin Laden is dead but al Qaeda and his syndicate of terror remain a serious threat to us both… we look forward to putting those words into action and seeing momentum for a political resolution”. As the United States meant business, it handed a list of five al Qaeda and Taliban leaders to the Pakistani leadership and asked them to provide intelligence about immediate and possible targets in joint operations. The list includes Osama bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, Taliban commander Mullah Omar, Siraj Haqqani, Ilyas Kashmiri and Atiya Abdel Rahman.
It is also significant to note that this time the United States took a tough position and plainly told Pakistan that Washington could not solve Islamabad’s problems. “That’s up to Pakistan… but in solving its problems, Pakistan should understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make problems disappear,” Clinton told reporters, suggesting that enough was enough – no support to breed hatred for the United States.
