An unfriendly ally

The success of an economic turnaround, combating the scourge of terrorism and religious extremism depends on peace in the region

The revelations made by Washington Post regarding US having ratcheted up its surveillance operations in Pakistan, as unmasked in the leaks provided by former US intelligence contractor Snowden, confirms the already known disposition of the former in regards to her fears of nuclear weapons and materials falling into the hands of the Islamist extremists and its possible plans to seize the nuclear assets in case of such an eventuality. Ask even a commoner in the street and he would confirm the narrative without any hesitation. The redeeming factor of the report however is the acknowledged inability of the US intelligence outfits to fill the gaps regarding information on the location of the nuclear assets and their safety. The CIA tried to obtain access in this area by offering security training. Pakistan did accept some of it but suspicions about US designs did prevent the sharing of the most sophisticated technology for safeguarding nuclear components which thwarted US moves to penetrate our nuclear safety network. The report nonetheless is yet another stark reminder of the fact that our nuclear assets will always remain a potential target of US and notwithstanding the assurances by National Command Authority (NCA) we need to focus more attention on devising an impregnable security curtain for their safety.

The existence of an extensive spying network of the CIA in Pakistan is an open secret and the former ISI Chief General Shuja Pasha in his statement he made before the Abbottabad Commission did clearly mention about CIA network in Pakistan and its penetration even in the NGOs working in the country. In the aftermath of leaking of the Abbottabad Commission report, the media also revealed that one of its members also shared the draft report with the NGO. It is amazing that nobody has taken notice of these alarming revelations. The former ISI chief owes an explanation as to why his agency did not take appropriate action to check the activities of the NGO and expose its machinations. Similarly, the links of the member of the Abbottabad Commission with the NGO, who is also a retired army general, need to be probed.

The fact that the US is an unfriendly ally hardly needs to be overemphasised. It has never exhibited respect for our sovereignty or helped us out of adverse situations like a friend. Rather it has used Pakistan as a pawn on the chessboard to advance its own global interests. Our relations with the US have always been tactical in nature designed to serve US interests. We lost our identity and sovereignty when we entered the alliances like SEATO and CENTO in the mid 1950s against a neighbouring super power; an ill-advised move that has caused an incalculable harm to us.

The US almost jeopardised our security by flying U2 spy plane over Russian territory from a base near Peshawar without the knowledge of the government; it helped India to start its nuclear programme which eventually enabled her to explode a nuclear device in 1974; it refused to help Pakistan when India attacked Pakistan in 1965 and put an embargo on the shipment of military hardware and spares to its ally; its sixth fleet never turned up to save the dismemberment of Pakistan when India attacked former East Pakistan; it fiercely opposed our nuclear programme and used sanctions to prevent Pakistan from pursuing the nuclear path; it used Pakistan against USSR in Afghanistan and at the end of the war left Pakistan in the lurch to face the consequences.

Our coerced participation in the war on terror as a frontline state also tells the same story of high-handedness by the mighty US. It has been pummeling our sovereignty at will. The Raymond Davis episode, Salala attack, operation to take out Osama bin Laden and continued drone attacks are ranting testimonies of this sordid reality. Now that the US is poised to pull out from Afghanistan, it is trying to ensure dominant role for India in Afghanistan after its withdrawal and also making well orchestrated moves to prop up India as a regional super power. All these steps are decidedly inimical to our security and strategic interests in the region.

The US, despite the sacrifices Pakistan has made in the war on terror, which are often publicly recognised, has clandestinely been working to undermine our strategic interests. It has persistently looked askance at Pakistan’s commitment to war on terror and accused it of double-dealing. The Jewish-dominated US media has also made incessant and relentless efforts to malign Pakistan as a hub of terrorism. Our shaky alliance with the US in the war on terror is necessity-specific. The US needed Pakistan to carry out its offensive in Afghanistan and it needs it now for an unscathed pull out from that country. The moment this is accomplished, Pakistan will again be left to rake the mess and face the fall out. The best course for Pakistan would be to facilitate timely US exit from Afghanistan and help the process of rapprochement which leads to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned solution to the conflict. We also need to review our future relationship with the US. The future relations must be structured around realisation of our own strategic interests in the region, rather than the other way round.

Our security and economic prosperity is inextricably linked to our own region. This reality necessitates building regional alliances and mending relations with neighbours as dictated by the changing regional and global realities. This will not only help us in countering some of the negative consequences of the US policies in the region but would also enhance our ability to overcome the internal challenges. In view of the obtaining situation, the initiative of the incumbent government to end animosity with India and convert it into a productive and mutually beneficial relationship is a visionary step. So is the move to nudge the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan. The government seems well aware and convinced of the fact, and rightly so, that the success of this vision for economic turnaround, combating the scourge of terrorism and religious extremism depends on peace in the region.

The writer is an academic.