A new reset?

Any hope that there might be a slight improvement in ties between Pakistan and the US has been diminished by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement at a press conference on Tuesday that he hopes Pakistan will achieve the “goals set out” by the Trump administration. More alarmingly, he added that Pakistan would be held accountable if it does not cut off ties to extremist groups like the Haqqani Network. Predictably, Pakistan has reacted angrily to what is essentially an ultimatum from the US. At his weekly news briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan would only do what is in its own interest. But Faisal still left the door open for reconciliation by pointing out that the US, like Pakistan, is working for peace in Afghanistan that is led by its own government.

It is here that one does not understand the strategy of the Trump administration. It too has finally realised that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and that the only way it can manage a dignified exit is through negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. The US State Department all but confirmed that the release of former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Baradar from Pakistani custody was part of the attempt to kick-start negotiations. This release would have been roundly condemned by the US had it not tacitly approved of it. Yet even while the US takes measures to earn the Taliban’s confidence, it still accuses Pakistan of being allied to the militant group.

The stubbornness of the Trump administration on Afghanistan shouldn’t foreclose the possibility of cooperation elsewhere. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement that he would try to mediate an end to the war in Yemen is one possibility. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is short on allies these days after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but the US, despite some disapproving words, is standing by its man. The US has been the biggest supplier of weaponry that is being used by Saudi forces in Yemen. Pakistan needs to work with the US not only to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to end this war but to rethink its approach to Iran. We could offer the US cooperation in Afghanistan if it agrees, for example, to allow Pakistan to pursue the Iranian gas pipeline despite the sanctions that have been re-imposed by Trump. Our relationship with the US, even in better days, was always transactional. Instead of expecting something for nothing, both sides need a bit of give and take to prevent the complete sabotage of relations between the two countries.