Talk it out, please

Eight hundred million reasons

Those not charitable to the Pakistani military – and there are plenty of those around, within the country and without – say the US has finally decided to hit it where it hurts most. Yes, it is the stoppage of funds that is going to peeve off the military more than any supposed loss of face in operations such as the one in Abbottabad or arm twisting for intelligence in the drone attacks in the tribal areas.

But it would do the US well to realise this is going to hurt them as well. By limiting aid to Pakistan’s military, the latter’s ability to fight the terrorists is also restricted. Do we have a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater here? Showing tough love has its utility but one with diminishing returns; is this latest step a little too much?

The US, for its part, has an argument. With the Pakistani government’s refusal to process visas for certain US personnel – trainers, a number of them – the corresponding stoppage of aid is not unreasonable. Far from that, since the trainers were going to be here to instruct the army itself, it is the Pakistanis that were, in brazen chutzpah, being ungrateful to an ally that was only trying to help them. Pakistan, though, argues it doesn’t need the trainers.

Now if the development is only a result of a scuffle over the visas, then it would be a mere diplomatic hiccup; the Pakistanis would soon realise the folly of the policy, which would be followed by the resumption of the aid by the US.

But if the problem is the Pakistani deep state’s general policy towards the war on terror, a resumption of normalcy is going to be a long slog indeed.

Both sides should exercise restraint here. It would do the US good to realise that any lasting success in the war against terror is impossible without Pakistan’s help. Such steps would only fuel anti-Americanism in the country.

Similarly, it is imperative for the Pakistani establishment to realise that patience is a commodity that is notorious for running thin. We can’t have our cake and eat it too. At the end of the day, all the Americans want is for us to implement our own publicly stated policy.