The military to military relations between Pakistan and the US have continued to deteriorate after the May 2 incident. The confrontation is also reflected in some of the decisions taken by the US and Pakistani administrations. Washington has delayed the release of $300 million of CSF upsetting Pakistan’s plans to keep the fiscal deficit below 5.3 percent as agreed with the IMF. It is now desperately knocking at the door of the Islamic Development Bank for an urgent release of $130 million to bridge the deficit. Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar has meanwhile asked the US to vacate the Shamsi Airbase which was being used for drone operations. The confrontation reveals a dangerous disconnect with the reality on the ground which requires understanding and cooperation between Pakistan and the US.
Certain questions and answers at the proceedings of the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday have led to a sharp rebuttal from the ISPR. Some of the impatient Senators worried about the lack of returns from the tax payers money put blunt questions to two top US commanders who are about to take charge of the US military operations in Afghanistan. In response, the commanders said things that amounted to serious allegations against the Pakistan army. As the proceedings were open, the allegations provided one sided material to the media for comments. The spokesman of the Pakistan armed forces has rejected what he called the ‘allegations’ and ‘aspersions’ and has called upon the US to take Pakistan’s concerns and constraints into consideration. During the Wednesday session of the Armed Services Committee, however, the assessments presented by Lt Gen Allen underlining the need for close ties between the two defence establishments were more realistic.
There is a need on both sides to arrest any further deterioration in their relations. There can be no two opinions about the urgency to eradicate the terrorists’ hideouts and take out the unrepentant terrorist leaders. However, while doing this, Pakistan army’s reservations have to be taken into account. The pursuit of immediate returns must not lead to creating long term problems for the region, as it did in 1980’s. The outstanding issues should be resolved through consultations instead of resorting to the blame game.