Concern in Washington
Of late Pakistan’s position in Washington’s eyes has been pretty directly linked with progress in the Afghan peace negotiations. Not too long ago, before the Mullah Omar spoiler when talks seemed just around the corner, the White House was happy enough to drop the ‘do more’ demand for once. Since then, Pakistan’s ability to get the Taliban to the negotiating table has dictated its fortunes across the Atlantic. The vibes turn positive when there’s some hint of progress, but regress quickly when the Taliban make gains on the ground. So when Kabul finally called off the talks – or at least Pakistan’s role in them – it was only a matter of time before another stinker came from Washington.
That is why the sharp attack the other day from members of the US Congress was not really very surprising. And it’s not as if their concerns change with time; not matter how much things might have progressed on ground. Once again there is a need to do more about the Haqqanis, about Afghan Taliban still enjoying the Pakistani sanctuary, about select Afghan militants still finding support from Pakistan, etc. The position of Richard Olson, the Af-Pak special representative, was not enviable as he tried to plead Pakistan’s case.
Still, it is pretty clear that US lawmakers have, once again, serious issues with the $742 million that the Obama administration has proposed for Pakistan for the upcoming fiscal year. And though threats to divert these monies ‘elsewhere, where they are more productive’ are not new, they do highlight how precarious Pakistan’s position can suddenly become if deprived of crucial funding. Zarb-e-Azb, though going well enough, is far from over. And the fight has just begun shifting to urban centres. US lawmakers so opposed to Pakistan must realise that by cutting off the funding they will not hurt just Islamabad, but the entire war effort.