There is no denying the fact that we as a nation-turned into a mob are mainly responsible for our problems and only we can solve our problems, provided we take the situation in our own control. Yet the glaring fact remains that the world collaborators have joined hands with each other to destabilize, denuclearize and disregard Pakistan and they are actually responsible for the bloodbath and accentuation of socio-politico-economic woes of this country. Without their active connivance, the allies couldn’t have succeeded in inflaming so many regions and wreaking death and destruction at such a wide scale.
Normality in relations may be achieved if, according to leading defence analyst, the US makes up Pakistan’s loss of $70 billion suffered in the US war on terror, compensates 100,000 dead and injured in the war including those who died or got injured by drones, stops drone war, provides civil nuclear technology to overcome energy crisis, apologizes for Salala massacre, declares that it will respect Pakistan’s sovereignty in future and will not meddle in its internal affairs, agrees to treat Pakistan with respect, assures that it will facilitate resolution of Kashmir dispute and promises that it will not let India to takeover security duties once the ISAF departs from Afghanistan.”
But the Americans seem in no mood to oblige on any of these areas of friction since it is feeling depressed and out of sorts. It somehow considers Pakistan to be partly if not wholly responsible for its failures in achieving its sinister designs. It is displeased with Pak Army and ISI as to why obstacles are being created in its efforts to undermine Pakistan. It is neither reconciling to the fact that it has lost the war in Afghanistan, or over the defiance of Pakistan which had accepted its dictates meekly for a decade. Closure of NATO supply routes has forced the US to utilize six-time expensive northern network and that too for non-lethal items. The US is considering making use of supply routes from China and air supplies from India.
Closure of Shamsi airbase resulted in suspension of drone strikes for sometime but after activating drone bases in Afghanistan and fine tuning ground intelligence, strikes have been resumed since January, although at a reduced scale.
Militancy in Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies has increased, several suicide attacks have taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, target killings in Karachi and Balochistan are continuing, exiled Baloch sardars supported by their patrons are spitting venom and rejecting reconciliation. Such anti-Pakistan activities are not possible without provision of funds to the dissidents.
As long as funds are flowing in and weapons are supplied, there will be no letup in such anti-state acts. It is wishful to assume that Pak-US relations will revert to normal after the parliamentary review, when strategic interests of the two are at variance, drone war and covert war by Indo-US-Israeli nexus remain operative and there is no let up in propaganda war. Those who believe that Americans are being defeated, might be true in their own sense, but they must remember that everything going to happen is in accordance with their calculations and the sufferings on Pakistan’s side seem to be innumerably in store.
RABAIL IFTIKHAR CHEEMA
Sialkot