Re-engaging with America

Pakistan is trying to redefine the terms of engagements with the US after last year’s devastating NATO air attack at a border outpost in Mohmand tribal agency, killing 24 servicemen. The Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) tasked to set the guidelines for future relations with the sole superpower has finalised a list of 35 recommendations, which will be implemented as baseline for ties with America after formal approval by the parliament in a joint sitting.

The process adopted for thrashing out the policy principles for reengaging with the US are of immense political importance for Pakistan. It started when the government convened a two-day Envoy Conference in Islamabad in December. Senior military officials like ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shujaa Pasha also participated in it. The recommendations of the conference were sent to the PCNS, where all parties sitting in the parliament are represented, for in-depth discussion. It was for the first time in the recent decades that elected representatives were involved to formulate the foreign policy which was considered an exclusive domain of the armed forces and the intelligence agencies. Though, different stakeholders, like security institutions, were given a chance to provide input and later they also got an opportunity to discuss it during the meeting of Defence Committee of Cabinet (DCC), they were not essentially the sole arbiter of what should be included or excluded. If taken to its logical end, as it appears that the government will ensure, we will have a truly home-made recipe for our ailing ties with Washington.

We do not know at this point in details about the final contours of the recommendations but the most important aspect of the new policy is its emphasis on openness and transparency in relations, based on written agreements, contrary to past practices of secret and verbal understandings which the US officials loved to forge with Pakistani dictators. Lack of documented proof about the nature of cooperation in post-9/11 era with the United States created a lot of troubles for Pakistan. In the name of security the government of military ruler Pervez Musharraf allowed the foreign powers to violate the sovereignty of Pakistan, creating serious security issues due to presence of CIA contractors and nobody had a clue as how to control them.

The committee has also reportedly proposed that new revised tariffs should be imposed on the NATO containers carrying supplies for Western troops fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The supplies were suspended after Mohmand incident and the government has refused to reopen the route despite direct and indirect pressure until the new policy is approved by the parliament. The seriousness can be judged from the fact that the government refused to receive Af-Pak envoy Marc Grossman, saying it was still reviewing the policy towards the US. Earlier, the military leadership showed clear reluctance to meet senior US military official who wanted to visit Pakistan. They even declined to get a briefing from the US side about a probe into the attack.

There are also reports that the new policy has asked for complete cessation of drone attacks as they are considered as the most prominent symbol of violation of national sovereignty. But this recommendation needs re-evaluation about their efficacy after reports that Taliban chief Hakeemullah might have been killed in one of the two drone attacks carried out in North Waziristan after Pakistan asked US to vacate the Shamsi airstrip, supposedly used to fly drone missions in tribal areas. There are also unconfirmed reports that one of important Al-Qaeda leaders was also among those targeted by drones on January 10. Interestingly, no statement against these drone attacks was issued either by the government or the military.

Though, the drone attacks have become an emotive issue, courtesy of a ceaseless campaign by the religious right, believed to be sympathetic to Islamic militants, but the government should consider its impediments to strike at the heart of militants near Afghan border before standing against the strikes. It would be better to work out a formula to use drones as the last resort to take on militants considered out of reach of our armed forces. Any such attacks should be based on mutual agreements and there should be clarity about the targets and objectives.

Pakistan desires that the future relation with Washington should be based on “mutual respect” and should be conducted in cooperative atmosphere which should be beneficial for both nations. The government may not be able to entirely end the “relationship of a client state” but the re-engagements will not be based on the presumptions of Musharraf era. As Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told CNN in an interview after the attack: “Business as usual will not be there, therefore we have to have something bigger so as to satisfy my nation, the entire country.”

The writer is an Islamabad-based senior journalist working for an international newswire and PhD scholar at NDU.