The US in a mood to cooperate
In view of the present state of relations between Pakistan and the US not much was being expected from Nawaz Sharif’s visit. The meeting with Barack Obama affirms that relations that had touched the nadir after the Abbotabad attack and the killing of two dozen Pakistani soldiers by the ISAF are on the mend now. Obama administration which was less than sure about a leader who wanted to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban has been sizing up the PM through meetings with Secretary of State John Kerry, prominent US legislators and Vice-President Joe Biden. The meeting with Obama ended on a positive note and should be considered as the first successful step that needs to be followed up by others.
Unlike the KP CM who claims that if his party had ruled the centre it would have ordered the shooting down of the drones, Nawaz acted more sagaciously. He can now claim that he has done whatever he could to present Pakistan’s case against the drone strikes at all public forums that were available to him in Washington and in talks with the top US leadership. As he had held several meetings with the army chief and DG ISI prior to the visit, what Sharif said on various issues must have carried weight as something on which the civilian and military leadership were on the same page. Obama made no mention of drones but there were hints in his remarks that indicate he understood Pakistan’s sensitivities. He said, he wanted to prevent security cooperation from being a source of tension between the US and Pakistan and that though fighting terrorism was a challenging task, he and Sharif discussed how they can cooperate “in ways that respect Pakistan.”
Sharif was keen to seek the US cooperation in matters related to economy and power sector. Obama has agreed and the two sides would hold meetings at various levels to thrash out the issues. He has also expressed keenness for “a goal that is good for Afghanistan, but also helps to protect Pakistan over the long term.” This should allay some of the concerns of Pakistani establishment regarding the post-ISAF scenario in the neighbouring country though much would depend on the concrete measures devised. What would rile the irrational fringe, however, is the absence of any mention of Afia Siddiqui during the talks and the US keenness to get Dr Afridi released. The PM is not supposed to cater to the whims of those who are out of sync with the times.
