Initial interaction with US administration is positive, but…
The past week witnessed a broadly smiling President Trump accepting the diplomatic credentials of Aizaz Chaudhry, newly appointed Pakistani Ambassador. The new US President was mostly in fighting mode during his first hundred days, beset by largely self-inflicted problems, but his demeanour with Chaudry seemed pleasant and affable. Responding warmly to the ambassador’s remarks that the Pakistani leadership and people were committed to continuation of the seven decades long friendly US-Pak ties, the President responded by sending best wishes to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Considering the rocky relationship of recent years, this was a good omen. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also pitched in by receiving Tom Shannon, Acting US Secretary of State at the Washington Embassy, who reiterated that close and good relations were beneficial for both countries.
And this is where the plot thickens and goes all awry for US-Pakistan ties. The Taliban attack in Mazar-i-Sharif killed 140 Afghan soldiers while an assault on Camp Chapman, a CIA and Special Forces base, coincided with the US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ unannounced visit to Afghanistan shortly after a whirlwind tour of the region by US National Security Adviser Gen. HR McMaster. A new policy aspect that emerged was the allegation by Mattis that the Russians were arming the Taliban. The commander of US forces in Afghanistan Gen. Nicholson harped on the ‘sophisticated’ planning behind the Mazar-i-Sharif attack, concluding that ‘it is quite possible’ that Pakistan-based Haqqani network was the culprit. Coming after Gen. McMaster’s warning to Islamabad to abandon ‘selective action against terror groups’, these developments do not augur well for a burgeoning relationship.
Growing Russian interest and moves in Afghanistan, even if they be in the interest of peace, are not welcome to the US. Hence, Mattis’ enigmatic remark that the US will engage other countries to defeat the Taliban. It is essential for Pakistan to remove the indelible misperception in the US establishment about its alleged Haqqani links, without which relations between them would remain sour and vulnerable.
