ISLAMABAD: Washington accuses Pakistan of playing a dangerous double game,taking billions in US aid while supporting militants attacking its forcesin Afghanistan, including the Taliban.
Its belated move to suspend assistance, after years of mistrust, highlightsthe perils of alienating a quasi-ally whose support is vital in thelong-running Afghan conflict.
The dramatic freeze in deliveries of military equipment and securityfunding comes after US President Donald Trump lambasted Pakistan for itsalleged support for militant safe havens, including in a furious new yeartweet.
Washington and Kabul accuse Pakistan of cynically supporting militantgroups including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani group.
They say the insurgents have safe havens in Pakistan’s border areas andlinks to its shadowy military establishment, which aims to use them inAfghanistan as a regional bulwark against arch-nemesis India.
Pakistan’s support for these groups must end, Washington insists.
Islamabad has repeatedly denied the accusations, insisting it haseradicated safe havens and accusing the US of ignoring the thousands whohave been killed on Pakistani soil and the billions spent fightingextremists.
It also levels the same charge at Kabul, accusing Afghanistan of harbouringmilitants on its side of the border who then launch attacks on Pakistan.
US aid has been suspended before, notably after the US raid on thePakistani town of Abbotabad in 2011 that killed al Qaeda leader Osama binLaden.
The discovery of the world’s most wanted man, less than a mile fromPakistan’s elite military academy, drew suspicions that he had beensheltered by the country’s intelligence agency for years.
But despite the provocations, the US does not want to completely ruptureits relationship with Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment already runshigh.
Washington’s footprint in Afghanistan is much smaller than it was at theheight of the war, and it needs access to Pakistan’s supply lines andairspace.
Pakistan holds the Muslim world’s only known nuclear arsenal and the USwants to prevent it from going to war with rival nuclear power India, orcollapsing and allowing the weapons to fall into the hands of extremists.
“They want to apply graduated pressure to Pakistan to change its policy,rather than abandon it altogether,” security analyst Hasan Askari said.
Some analysts have said there is no real way to pressure Pakistan, whichbelieves keeping Kabul out of nemesis India’s orbit is more important thanclamping down on cross-border militancy.
Askari warned the suspension of millions of dollars in security assistancemight see the US lose crucial influence over Pakistan which will insteadlook to other countries for support.
China – which is investing some $60 billion in infrastructure projects inPakistan – was the first to rush to Pakistan’s defence after Trump’s latesttweet criticising its militant policy.
In the end, observers say, until Washington addresses Pakistan’s concernsover India, it will not shake its support for proxies.
“There’s no amount of bribery or threat that can ultimately make people actagainst what they consider to be their core interests,” tweeted journalistMurtaza Mohammad Hussain.