Pakistan’s position and choices
Why was Trump’s take on Pakistan, during his speech about the war in Afghanistan of course, such a bombshell for Pakistan? And why is everybody, especially the press, so ‘puzzled’ about the twist about India? “Pakistan’s the problem (in Afghanistan)” has been Trump’s favourite line about the war since the early days of his presidential campaign. And the bit about India only stresses the point that failing an immediate “do more” on the part of Pakistan, the latter is out of the American plan for Afghanistan, at least till their next reset moment.
Considering the unconventional style of the US president, and that he saw Pakistan as the “problem” for a while, shouldn’t the national security huddle – that met to react to Trump – have taken place much, much earlier to preempt just such a situation? And it’s not as if Trump has just shocked everybody by mentioning the safe havens. It has been a recurring theme since George W Bush brought it up with Gen Musharraf in the early days of the war. And now we’ll struggle to convince a third US president of just how far we’ve brought our own fight against terrorism, and how Afghanistan actually houses our insurgents in its own little safe havens that nobody seems to notice.
The talk about Pakistan taking the first step in softening the relationship with America, in favour of moving closer to regional powers China and Russia, is indeed serious and should be taken up vigorously by the government as well as the establishment. Bolstering friendly, and business, relations with Russia – on top of the political bond and CPEC bonanza binding us with China – will prove beneficial not just trilaterally, but will also help end the fighting in Afghanistan. Chinese and Russian cooperation with Iran on numerous fronts will also help bring Iran to the Afghan endgame as another important neighbour; a crucial leverage that the Trump White House has deliberately squandered away. Yet to play alongside these heavyweights Pakistan, too, will have to bring to the table something more remarkable than just its geographic location. So far we are a country dependant on others’ money even for our day-to-day functioning. To be able to protect our pride and sovereignty internationally, we will have to shape up or risk always being the one party always trying to punch above its weight in international politics.