Pak-US ties: no sign of improvement
Pak-US ties have been on a rocky road for a while now, and it seems their turbulent journey is not over yet. With both sides locking horns on various issues, they wait for one’s turn and then play their cards as they want, instead of setting an eye at finishing the game. This trend has lingered on for more than fifteen months. The US lacks trusts in Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism while Pakistan does not trust the Americans because of their goals in Afghanistan and a rapidly growing relationship with India, of which Pakistan is not happy at all.
Escalating the situation, a new bill has been presented in the US Congress to put strict restrictions on assistance to Pakistan. Much like a proverbial slap in the face, these are the very restrictions Pakistan had been trying to do away with. These restrictions are aimed at ensuring that Pakistan cooperates with the US in a transparent manner, especially in uprooting terrorist networks and preventing them from setting up their camps and operating from Pakistan. If the Americans are offering financial assistance, they would want their way. Hillary Clinton’s claims that Al-Qaeda’s new chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri is in Pakistan and that there is still a bounty on Hafiz Saeed put Pakistan in deeper and muddier waters, if that’s even possible.
Perhaps it would have not come to this if Pakistan had not botched up its chance of getting an apology from the Obama Administration. Islamabad should have accepted it when they offered it. Now things have spiralled out of control. Pakistan has made it a pre-condition for any talks with the US, while they have put forth their own: opening of Nato supply routes before anything else. Pakistan would also, most likely, not be invited to the Chicago summit on Afghanistan’s future, leaving it out of the whole process it wants a significant stake in.
Election year in both the US and Pakistan is also to be blamed for this tension. Neither Obama nor Gilani wants to be seen as too weak on their stance as that may damage their re-election chances. These tensions and the consequent US actions are actually proving detrimental to the success of democracy in Pakistan. It is high time both countries sat down and settled their mutual issues for the sake of peace in the region and the world at large.
