At the same time
Oscillating between carrot and stick might be the mantra of choice for the Americans but they appear to have upped their game. Gone are the days where the alternating policies of tough love and sweet talk could get things done. It needs to be even more nuanced. Like saying everything simultaneously.
In this vein, US Senator John Kerry is to arrive in Pakistan with what many believe would be an apology for the Salala incident. Kerry, the chairman of the senate’s foreign affairs committee, would be meeting with high-level civil and military leaders, in his first visit to the country after the incident which resulted in the death of 26 Pakistani soldiers.
But, at the same time, the US is also sounding off on the Haqqani network, believed to be somewhere in Pakistani tribal areas, who the Americans believe to be behind the attacks in Kabul from a couple of days ago.
Hawkish and peaceniks at the same time. Perhaps a valid response to Pakistan’s own alleged behaviour of playing all positions. “They have two tongues in one mouth, and two faces on one head, so that they can speak everybody’s language. They use everybody, deceive everybody.” The words of Mullah Zaeef, former ambassador of the Taliban regime to Pakistan. True, Zaeef would obviously be peeved more because of the blatant disregard the Pakistani state showed him when the chips fell where they did, but few from the world over would deny, in private, the veracity of his assessment.
The world, however, also needs to realise Pakistan’s position. The Americans waged a war in Afghanistan and left Pakistan to pick up the pieces. It was ugly for Pakistan. Not as ugly as it was for the Afghans, granted, but tough nonetheless. When the Americans came back to wage another war in Afghanistan, Pakistan response was a wisened one. That hedging of bets has been vindicated by the Americans’ decision to pull out of Afghanistan and take the Taliban on board to discuss a future setup in the country. Advocates for doublespeak are pretty smug right about now.
It is the lot of the US to try to win over Pakistan by a consistency in policies and ownership of the dispute. Only then can the political governments in Pakistan, who do not in any way see Afghanistan as a fifth province, be emboldened enough to carry sway over the deep state in these matters.
