Signaling that Pakistan-US relations could be on the road to repair in the days ahead, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on Saturday said the two sides were working in good faith to try to resolve the issue over restoration of NATO supply routes into the landlocked Afghanistan. At a Pentagon briefing, Panetta also said Pakistan had been a victim of terror. His measured remarks represent a ratcheting down from rhetorical criticism of Pakistan’s inaction against Afghan Haqqani militants, who allegedly use the Tribal Areas for cross-border attacks on American targets in Afghanistan.
“There continue to be discussions in this area. We continue to have a line of communication with Pakistanis to try to see if we can take steps to reopen the GLOCs (ground lines of communication). The good news is that there continue to be those discussions,” he said.
At the same time, he acknowledged that “there are still some tough issues (between the two countries) to… resolve”. “But I think the important thing right now is that both sides, in good faith, keep working to see if we can resolve this,” he added, appearing jointly with US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey.
The US defence secretary noted that the Pakistani officials understood Washington’s concern over cross-border attacks by the Haqqani militants. He referred to this week’s meeting between US top commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen and Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, emphasising that the US and Pakistan should work together to curb cross-border activities of the Haqqani militants.
“After all, they too have been the victim of terrorism. They lost 17 Pakistanis on a patrol to the TTP. And so everyday they too are the victims of terrorism. So we have a common enemy. It would make sense if we could work together to confront that common enemy,” he said. Panetta’s restrained comments appeared to be an attempt to give diplomacy a chance to work between the two nations. He angered Pakistanis on recent visits to Kabul and New Delhi by using some blistering language to express Washington’s dissatisfaction with Islamabad’s counterterrorism performance.
In Kabul, he went on to say that the US was reaching limits of its patience with Pakistan’s lack of action against the Haqqani network, which US says, targets American forces deployed in Afghanistan.
Officials in both Islamabad and Washington have adopted a conciliatory tone, in a break with their previous hardened articulations. In the last couple of days, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has said restoration of NATO supply routes would be in Pakistan’s interests while the military described this week’s talks between General Allen and General Kayani as constructive.
Pakistan Today reported on Friday that the two sides were working on a package deal which would address Islamabad’s longstanding concerns on drone strikes in the Tribal Areas and allow the relations to move forward.
For the United States, reopening of the supply routes remains a priority as it has been paying an additional $100 million a month to fly and transport supplies into Afghanistan via a much longer northern route.
Islamabad, meanwhile, has been demanding a US apology over the Salala incident to help revive relations between the two countries, which worked closely in the last 10 years to get rid of several al Qaeda-linked militants.
But relations staggered from one crisis to another last year, with the discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and the subsequent unilateral American raid that took out the al Qaeda chief causing a significant downslide in bilateral ties.
In addition to lingering mutual frustrations on some counterterrorism issues, the two countries are trying to secure their interests in politically charged environments as both US President Barack Obama and President Asif Zardari’ government face elections