After Pakistan helped United States drive Soviet Union out of Afghanistan, the US Government and Congress wasted no time in slapping sanctions on Pakistan.
Now once again, the US is getting ready to leave Afghanistan, Congress and US Government is wasting no time in stopping financial assistance to Pakistan. This is despite the tall promises by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and others US officials “this time we will not abandon Pakistan”.
Before Congress or the US Administration can act, the Pakistan government should tell the US, no thank you, we do not need your financial assistance.
The cost to Pakistan of the US war in Afghanistan runs into billions of dollars. The damage to our roads alone by transportation of US and NATO heavy equipment from Karachi to Khyber over the last ten years is substantial. Thanks to successive compliant Pakistani governments, it collected no usage fee.
The American drumbeat of $20 billion aid to Pakistan is sheer fiction. A major portion of this is reimbursement of services provided to US forces at three air bases in Pakistan, the same bases US used to launch drone attacks on northern Pakistan.
The net financial assistance to Pakistan is probably well under $1 billion over ten years. During the same period, the US spent $10 billion per month (one trillion dollars to date) on war in Afghanistan and it has nothing to show for it.
The cost to Pakistan of this war has been a hundred times more than it has received. Pakistan’s economy is in ruins because of instability caused by terror attacks. The Frontier Constabulary and the Army has also lost thousands of soldiers.
Pakistan’s military establishment is also to blame for becoming involved in Afghanistan. The outmoded logic of ‘strategic depth’ has caused a great deal of harm to Pakistan. It is time for the military to change its mindset and leave Afghanistan to Afghans.
Unless there is an imminent threat to Pakistan from the Western border, they have no business in trying to run the affairs of that country. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is much more in Pakistan’s interest than a Taliban run extremist Afghanistan.
It is time to restore nation’s dignity. It is time to say “No, thank you” to US financial assistance. However, there is no need to take on a fight with the US. We should have friendly relations and assist the US in making a peaceful exit from Afghanistan. However, there should be no need to issue blanket visas to CIA and its gun happy contractors; we do not need any more Raymond Davises running loose on the streets of Pakistan.
AJAZ HAQUE
Canada
