– especially intelligence-sharing of the alleged terrorist havens – also need to be emphasised. If mending relations with Washington is important – which, needless to say, it is – then it is our responsibility to do so at our end. This would require an extensive review of the existing relations and an honest appraisal of the fault lines. Moreover, we must assume ownership of any flaws from our side. But more importantly, Pakistan’s civil-military leadership must arrive at a consensus on how to redefine the terms of this lop-sided relationship. The lockdown in our relations with Washington is not just an outcome of a cyclical blame game-aggrievement trap that we are caught in because of the stalemate in Kabul. Instead, relations have been strained because we haven’t relayed our objectives to the US in comprehensive terms. And on the national front, we have refused to establish transparent practices in implementing any tacit policy agreements made with the Pentagon on ground. Thus, the government has been forced to follow a dual policy.
Take drones for example. The carte blanche given to the US drone attacks over the years came at the cost of damaging our sovereign image. But no one – civil or military – had the courage to own up to it. Similarly, all the encroachments being made by the US on our policymaking rights as a sovereign nation are because we haven’t taken a unified stand on either policy or on handling the grievances that are thrown our way. It is shameful that parliament is neither debating nor questioning the origins of this issue at this juncture. While the frustration felt by Kabul and Washington in reversing the tide of the Afghan insurgency is directed at Islamabad, we need to quell it for our own sake as well. If we don’t work in tandem, we will lose the grounds that we have wrested from miscreants at a great cost. Unfortunately, the lack of trust on both sides is the biggest obstacle that mars any productive outcome – even if a concrete plan of action is formulated – and it needs to be addressed on a priority basis.
The writer was a former deputy opinion editor at Gulf News, Dubai.