Nawaz’s dilemma in Washington

What quid pro quo can he offer?

Maulana Fazlur Rehman expects Nawaz Sharif to have a “straight talk” with Obama on the issues like parleys with the TTP and an end to drone strikes. He fails however to tell what Pakistan can offer to allay the US security concerns. The talks with Secretary of State John Kerry were dominated by the security related issues which affect Pakistan as they do the US. The US needs Pakistan’s help in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. Both Washington and Kabul however fail to understand that the Afghan Taliban, like their predecessors, would not take any dictation from Pakistan. Sharif cannot therefore deliver the religious militia to Washington even if he wanted to. He would ask for an end to drone attacks and rightly so. The US might agree to the demand, but only provided Pakistan was willing to undertake an operation in the North Waziristan – haven to militant networks that strike with impunity deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan. What stops the army from undertaking the operation is that it considers the Haqqani network its asset in the post-ISAF period. Unless a quid pro quo is agreed upon the likelihood of an end to the drone strikes is scant. Sharif is committed to holding talks with the TTP. The Pakistan delegation would have found it hard to explain why it was keen to seek a settlement with a group bent upon disintegrating not only Pakistan but the entire region. Sharif can only assure that the non-lethal supplies to the US-led forces in Afghanistan would continue to ply through Pakistan, which is not much.

While the US gives priority to the considerations of security, Sharif wants American investments, favourable trade terms, help in power sector rejuvenation besides weapons for the armed forces. Obama administration has already made commitments in this regard that were widely publicised on the eve of Sharif’s arrival. Foreign investors are scared of incidents of terrorism in the country, the weakening rupee, power shortages and the sad state of infrastructure. Sharif had to answer questions related to these issues. There is thus not much hope for any big investment as long as the terrorist threat is alive, power shortages continue and the economy is in decline.

The PML-N had done no homework on these crucial issues other than receiving briefings from the army and the ISI. Will Sharif be wiser after the three-hour long talks with the top US security team? Will he be able to persuade the Pakistani establishment to stop cherry-picking when dealing with the terrorists to bring peace and stability to the country? It remains to be seen.