- US’s Pakistan policy pulling in different directions
Slowly and steadily, the US strategic interest is swivelling from Afghanistan and even traditional ally, the European Union, towards Indo-Pacific, formerly Asia-Pacific, the vast area stretching from the US to India’s west coast, with the paramount objective of reining in increasingly proactive China and its growing influence among regional countries. Where that leaves the 17-year thorn in its flesh and festering wound that is Afghanistan, causes confused head-scratching in Pakistan and other neighbouring countries impacted by the savage conflict that envelops security forces and innocent civilians alike. Perhaps the dichotomy reflects the innate lack of clarity and somersaults that have characterised Trump administration’s policies, or it may be provoked by the growing number of powerful hawks now nesting smugly in the White House environs, compounded by Number One’s own political inexperience, impulsiveness and unpredictable nature.
Two recent examples aptly illustrate Washington’s contradictory attitude and approach towards Pakistan. In an unexpected but welcome move, the US Congress last week enacted a law, the US National Defence Authorisation Act 2019, that relaxed somewhat Washington’s earlier stringent stance of relating financial/military assistance under Coalition Support Funding to concrete action against Haqqani Network, and left a window of opportunity open, with more flexible conditions, for compensation to Pakistani forces for their verifiable action on the Afghan border, the amount reportedly ranging from $150 million to $350 million in 2019, though still far less than the original budgeted $750 million. This might ease the pressure on Pakistan in acquiring US weaponry for counter- terrorism purposes, but of far greater significance are its intensive efforts in facilitating US-Afghan-Taliban talks, and the famous three-day Eidul Fitr ceasefire in June, with contacts now reaching a meaningful stage with senior US envoy Alice Wells reportedly meeting Taliban leaders in Qatar last week.
But contrarily, on Monday, Mike Pompeo found ‘no rationale’ for another IMF bailout package for Pakistan (desperately needed to prevent possible future default), if it merely meant settling debts taken earlier from the US’s ‘indo-Pacific’ and trade war rival, China, as American taxpayers’ money was involved. But factually, this anomaly represents our chickens coming home to roost, following years of flagrant economic mismanagement.
