Relations in limbo

US State Department official Alice Wells’ third visit to Pakistan this year ended as inconclusively as the previous two. During her one-day trip, she met with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua but both sides either remained silent about the outcome of the meeting or issued a terse statement. The rot that has set in the heart of Pakistan-US relations can be primarily attributed to Afghanistan. The US feels Pakistan is not doing enough to take on the Haqqani Network and Afghan Taliban, or is perhaps even aiding them. For Pakistan, there is precious little incentive to follow US dictates any longer now that China has decisively replaced the US as the country’s most important ally. Some new wrinkles have come up in the past few weeks too. The killing of a motorcyclist by the US defence attaché led to us placing restrictions on US diplomats; this has been reciprocated by similar restrictions being placed on our diplomats. It is believed that Janjua asked Wells to lift the defence attaché’s diplomatic immunity so that he could be prosecuted in Pakistan but this request is unlikely to be granted. For now, relations between the two countries are simmering at a low boil, where the two countries are refraining from outright hostility but have few areas of agreement.

Pakistan and the US are operating with different agendas at the moment. Our focus is understandably on the militant threat we face at home, which is why we want the US to use its influence with Afghanistan to convince it to take action against TTP bases on its side of the border. Pakistan also seems determined to repatriate as many Afghan refugees as possible, voicing the belief that there may be some militant elements among them. For the US, which has ramped up its troop presence in Afghanistan, militants who are targeting Pakistan seem to be a low priority. But that does not mean there is no scope for improvement in ties. It was reported that Wells and Janjua discussed the prospect of holding talks with the Afghan Taliban. This idea has been building momentum since Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called for direct talks with the militant group. So far, the Afghan Taliban are insistent on the US being a part of any talks. Should this come to pass – and it is likely to once the US realises that even extra troops cannot win it the war in Afghanistan – Pakistan should have a role to play in bringing all sides to the table. Until then, though, both countries are unlikely to be on the same page.