ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has said that he see the alliancewith the United States as over after Washington suspended security-relatedassistance to Pakistan.
“We do not have any alliance” with the US,” said Asif said in an interviewon Friday with the Wall Street Journal. “This is not how allies behave.”
The foreign minister’s statement comes among increasingly tense exchange inthe past week between the two countries, but relations have frayed but notbeing broken to several differences.
Pakistan fears a full break could lead the US to apply its leverage ininternational forums to hurt the country’s economy, which jettisoningsupport by US for a longtime ally in a strategic location isn’t easy.
According to WSJ, Pakistan is concerned about the growing closeness witharchenemy India, with the Trump administration inviting it to take a biggerrole in Afghanistan.
This could push Pakistan to pullback from cooperating with US and pushfurther close to China, and could also affect the complicated war inAfghanistan.
BMI Research, an economic-analysis firm based in London, said in a reportsaid that the US suspension of aid “will likely accelerate Pakistan’sgeopolitical drift towards China.”
Khawaja Asif further said Pakistan made a “huge mistake” in 2001 by joiningthe US-led war in Afghanistan, which he said led to backlash on Pakistan.
Pakistan has maintained that it fought the war on terrorism from its ownresources and has rendered tremendous sacrifices and could manage withoutUS aid. Both sides have avoided inflammatory moves that could permanentlydamage their interests.
“We have relative calm in Pakistan at the moment,” Khawaja Asif said. “Butif we go against these people (Afghan insurgents), then the war will againbe fought on our soil, which will suit the Americans.”
The WSJ states Pakistan is not satisfied with US policy and wants to Indianrole in Afghanistan reduced to a skeleton presence, and wants coalition andAfghan forces to fight militants based in Afghanistan.
Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan is “not alone” and had options for otherallies. Last year, He rallied China, Iran, Russia and Turkey behindPakistan’s strategy for Afghanistan, which centers on peace talks with theTaliban instead of more fighting.
The estrangement of Pakistan and the US has large geopolitical dynamics. UShas been getting much closer to India over the last decade, while Pakistanhas embraced China.