Once again the relationship between Pakistan and the United States is on the rocks. Despite mutual efforts to remove irritants, the situation remains unchanged.
Their bilateral ties have always been bumpy with twists and turns. Be it the signing of a border agreement with China in 1963, the wars with India, carrying out of nuclear test or differences over Afghan policy, the two “allies” have been found at loggerheads very frequently.
American diplomats stationed in Pakistan are trying to rebuild US image, but the trust deficit is too high. America has been wholly untrustworthy is the common perception. During her visit to Pakistan, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also tried to remove “misconceptions,” but she had to give up, as students at the Lahore Government College University, heckled her far too much than she could have ever imagined. Pakistanis complain that Washington pampers Pakistani leadership, civilian and military but dumps them when its goal is achieved. This perception is based on historical accounts of the ties between the two allies. Two former military dictators Ziaul Haq and Pervez Mushrraf were US’ darlings but Zia was abandoned after the withdrawal of former Soviet Union from Afghanistan in 1987, and Musharraf was left high and dry in the wake of lawyers’ agitation against him in 2007. He finally bade farewell to power a year later.
On one hand, US wants to help build the much-needed power plants and help Pakistan in education and health sectors and on the other threatens Pakistan with sanctions, and has succeeded to a great extent in halting work on the pipeline for Iranian gas which this country badly needs.
The drone attacks in the northern belt is now an old story. The sheer presence of the CIA in Pakistan has been significant in the wake of Edward Snowden recent revelations that 50 percent of CIA’s black budget is being spent on the surveillance of Pakistan’s nuclear program. The issue of CIA’s presence has been a source of friction between the US and Pakistan since the arrest of Raymond Davis in Lahore. It is no secret as Mark Mozzetti in his book “Way of Knife” has revealed that the CIA has been involved in massive covert warfare in Pakistan and Pakistan is the “most penetrated” country in the world. Pakistan’s nuclear program is at risk in case CIA operatives, numbered in thousands, remain active in the country. The leaked Abbottabad Commission report shows how the ground presence of CIA helped the Americans carry out the raid successfully.
Differences over Pakistan’s relations with India and Iran also constitute another source of friction between the US and Pakistan. The US wants Pakistan to stop backing the militant groups in Kashmir ignoring the indigenous causes of militancy in Kashmir while Pakistan wants US to persuade India to revive the composite dialogue process aimed at resolving all outstanding issues including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also ironical that the US has made India its strategic partner by signing the nuclear deal while it denies the same cooperation to energy-starved Pakistan and also piles pressure on Islamabad to cancel its gas pipe deal with Iran. Pakistan is threatened with sanctions if it goes ahead with the proposed gas project.
The latest is the yawning gap in policy perceptions of the two countries about Afghanistan. Pakistan wants a dominant role in keeping peace in its war-torn neighborhood, while the US wishes to see a pro-India president to replace Hamid Karzai in elections next month. Karzai is also reportedly unhappy with the US attitude and wants his brother to win and succeed him as the president.
