Time to move forward
Saying that the state of the relationship between the US and Pakistan has not been ideal for quite some time now would be an understatement. Both have a serious trust deficit and reservations against each other which somehow do not seem to ebb down. Pakistan feels let down and unjustly dealt with while the US feels that Pakistan has not been entirely straight with them where eliminating Al-Qaeda and its affiliates from its lawless tribal areas is concerned. International relations are perhaps best not served with any emotional baggage, but with a certain transactional understanding which states can mutually agree upon and benefit from.
When Pakistan agreed to become a frontline state in the US war against terror, it never expected to become a target itself. In the decade that went by in yet another war waged by the US, it seems the US somehow relegated Pakistan’s status to being a part of the problem instead of a part of the solution. And that is what has bothered Pakistan’s political and military leadership most. The US has consistently ignored many of Islamabad’s justified demands, like that of halting the drone strikes which cause considerable collateral damage. The recent drone strike in North Waziristan that came after about a month has only upped the ante.
An attack on Pakistan’s border check posts in Salala last year proved to be the proverbial last straw. Pakistan retaliated by closing its border to Nato supplies and ending all sorts of cooperation in the war on terrorism, at least until a review of its terms of engagement with the US. An apology, release of CSF payments, a complete halting of drone strikes, and some other terms were put before the US for a renewal in the relationship. The apology is the part that is the most important one because of the public outcry here in Pakistan over the incident, and unfortunately, that is also the part the US seems to be reluctant in accepting. The rest have been agreed upon and a new course is being charted in the light of the new terms of engagement.
