The Pak-US strategic dialogue is being held at a time when relations between the two countries are by no means at their best. What is more both sides are putting up demands, the fulfillment of which would be possible only if both are willing to ignore domestic pressures. Washington is being asked to commit a further $2 billion in a military package by Pakistan when public mood in US has soured on Islamabad. What is more, President Obama is fighting an uphill battle that he is likely to lose in the forthcoming mid-term congressional elections. There being no concept of free lunches in the US, Pakistan is being pressed to undertake a military operation in North Waziristan, to start with, as quid pro quo.
The top issue at the ongoing talks is increased military aid. Looking at the issue from purely military perspective, the weapons being demanded might be necessary to bring the present and future military operations in the tribal areas to a successful conclusion. Many had expected, however, that with 7 million flood victims still without shelter and 14 million in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, the issue should have been high on the agenda, all the more so because the strategic dialogue was initiated by the Obama administration to indicate to Pakistan’s skeptical public it is ready to take up its concerns. It is also ironic that much of the aid committed in the Kerry-Lugar Law for building schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions in hopes of denting the extremists appeal was diverted to expenses on flood victims instead of launching a separate fund for them. One had hoped that after the UN appeal for $2 billion funds for food and shelter having been funded by only 35 percent, the US would be asked to arrange the rest of the amount.
The war against extremism and terrorism cannot be won by military means alone as the US experience in Iraq and Afghanistan would amply substantiate. What is much more important is to invest in social development, education and health. These are precisely the sectors where Pakistan continues to impose cuts in one budget after another. Unless the priorities are reviewed there is little hope of a victory on the war on terrorism.
