- Is the ice really breaking?
Mutual needs bring Pakistan and the USA together while unrealistic expectations give birth to misunderstandings and suspicions between them. With a temperamental President in the White House Pakistan received new year greetings in 2018 in the form of allegations couched in unsophisticated language.
Providing shelter to the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups has been the bone of contention between the two countries during the last few years. The US administration first reduced and then suspended the aid and reimbursements to Pakistan for military cooperation under the Coalition Support Fund. There were also threats of expanding the drone attacks inside the settled areas of KP and Balochistan. Another measure was cutting scores of Pakistani military officers from training and educational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral military relations for several decades.
The keen desire on the part of US President Donald Trump to end the Afghan war at the earliest led him to seek Islamabad’s help in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. Now he wants Pakistan to persuade and pressurise the Afghan Taliban to hold talks with the Kabul government. Washington is also using its clout with the FATF to seek Pakistan’s full cooperation
A cash strapped Islamabad needs US financial support and help in getting its name removed from the FATF grey list while the army needs US aid and military equipment.
President Trump wants a negotiated peace in Afghanistan before the Presidential elections due next year. If he can retrieve the promise to bring back US troops, this would help in his election campaign.
Mutual needs have brought the two leaders to the negotiating table. Both share similar temperaments. In case the PM succeeds in developing chemistry with the President the gridlock in relations can be broken in days to come through detailed talks by diplomats. There is however a little problem. Even if the two sides discover they are soulmates, President Trump has the liberty to overrule the State Department, Pentagon and CIA while PM Imran Khan cannot make any crucial promise on his own. This explains why he is accompanied by those who take all major decisions.
