The stalemate

There scarcely seems to be a moment when ties between Pakistan and US are not troubled in some way; and the relationship has become rather tense over the last three months. This was borne out by Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz’s testimony to the Senate where he said relations with the US were on a downward trajectory – he called it a ‘stalemate’ – for three reasons: the US Congress’ decision to block subsidies for our purchase of F-16s, our nuclear weapon programme and the continued detention of Dr Shakil Afridi. The question is: why the increasingly terse tone of the US these past few months? The key to this could be the lack of progress on the Afghan front, as the US feels it must attempt to save face before attempting to exit the country. With another round of talks between the US and Pakistan coming up at the end of this month, the tension is set to continue. And while none of these issues is new, it may be significant that they are all converging at the same time. The F-16s issue will be crucial in moving ahead and we are going to be raising the issue again.

There seems to be a tendency on the part of the Americans to forget Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war on terrorism. This was clearly on display in an editorial by the New York Times, the fount of pro-establishment conventional wisdom in the US, which called Pakistan a ‘dangerous and duplicitous partner for the US’ but recognised that Pakistan was key to peace talks with the Taliban. The US State Department on the same day insisted that Pakistan was a key ally, despite not seeing eye to eye with it on many issues. Additionally, State Department made it clear that key members of the US Congress were making the F-16 deal contingent on action against the Haqqani Network. Until then, the US will continue to withhold military aid to Pakistan at a time when it needs it most. It is clear that this is a pressure tactic. This state of affairs between the US and Pakistan are evidently due to the failed attempts at initiating peace talks with the Taliban. The US and Afghanistan both blame Pakistan for not exerting enough control on the Taliban, without making any concessions for Pakistan’s precarious position – caught between its own fight against the TTP (the Pakistani Taliban) and its commitment to bring the Afghan Taliban to the talks table. The real issue seems to be the failure of the US in offering stability to the Central and South Asian regions. The contradiction in the US attitude on our nuclear programme is also clear as it continues to support India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) despite India’s failure to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Clearly, rules can and do get bent when it comes to US foreign relations. With no clear breakthrough in sight, these stumbling blocks are probably going to continue in this precarious alliance.