ISLAMABAD – As a non-NATO ally in the war on terror, for the last 17 years,Pakistan has extended immense assistance to the US and coalition forces byproviding them land and air supply routes and very close intelligencesupport.
As a result, the operation enduring freedom in Afghanistan was facilitated,enabling the US to defeat al-Qaeda and related groups and form a newgovernment in Kabul. In the process, Pakistan was adversely impacted by thefallout of this war. During the war on terror, Pakistan has suffered morethan 70, 000 casualties (including 6000 military personnel), and a hugeeconomic loss of aboveUS$120 billion.
As a result of the operation Zarb-e-Azb launched in 2014, North Waziristan,including Khyber Agency, has been cleared of all terrorists, includingHaqqani Network, since most of them were killed and some fled toAfghanistan. As Afghanistan has provided safe havens to those terrorists,India is using Afghan soil for sponsoring terrorism to destabiliseBalochistan. The US authorities are in full knowledge of this. Now,operation Radd-ul-Fassad is in progress to chase any terrorists spotted inPakistan.
Rather than acknowledging Pakistan’s contributions in the war on terror, inhis Afghanistan and South Asia policy announced on 21 August 2017,President Trump alleged Pakistan for providing safe havens for the Talibanand Haqqani Network.
Trump said, “Pakistan must stop providing safe havens for terrorists.Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with the US effort inAfghanistan, and much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists. The USand its allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan will work to stop the resurgenceof safe havens and victory will mean attacking our enemies, obliteratingthe ISIS, crushing al-Qaida, preventing the Taliban from taking overAfghanistan and preempting terror attacks against the US.
The US must prevent nuclear weapons/materials from coming into the hands ofterrorists”. Trump had also said, “India will be a key component in anystrategy in the region, and we are committed to pursuing our sharedobjectives in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
The warning has been given to Pakistan despite the fact that afterZarb-e-Azb, Pakistan’s leaders have stated many times before and after 21August 2017 that now there are no organised safe havens of terrorists inPakistan, and in this context, there is no need for Pakistan to do more.
Despite this, President Trump issued his first Tweet of 2018 saying, “TheUS has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid overthe last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit,thinking of our leaders as fools.
They give safe havens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with littlehelp. No more!” On January 5, 2018, the United States announced it wassuspending all security and military assistance to Pakistan and theSecretary of the State, James Mattis stated that the security assistancewill be restored only when Pakistan take action against the Taliban andHaqqani Network.
This bluntly stated allegation of providing safe havens to terrorists inPakistan does not carry weight given the fact that the Taliban have controlover approximately 40 percent area of Afghanistan, where they and Haqqaniscan stay. This allegation only amounts to making Pakistan a scapegoat forthe US failures in Afghanistan. The fact, however, comes to fore if onereads the statement of Gen (R) David Petraeus, the former CIA director andcommander of US troops in Afghanistan, in response to a question related toPakistan’s alleged duplicity in fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan.
General Petraeus said there is no evidence of Pakistan playing a doublegame and supporting terrorists in Afghanistan. Petraeus’ remarks areparticularly significant given the fact that he was on a short list ofTrump’s choices for the post of the Secretary of the State.
Given the above facts, it seems that President Trump is using India’slanguage by alleging Pakistan for providing safe havens to the terrorists.Since last few years, Modi has been struggling to negatively influenceimportant world leaders to blame Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism, but hefailed. However, in theUS-India strategic partnership to contain China,Modi has been especially trying to negatively influence the USAdministration and particularly President Trump, to blame Pakistan forsupporting terrorism in the region, to ultimately undermine Pakistan’snuclear status and the success of the CPEC. Perhaps, to please India, Trumpblamed Pakistan for safe havens and also stated that the US must preventnuclear weapons from coming into the hands of terrorists.
Otherwise, it is a time bar statement as Pakistan has already uprootedterrorism, the world knows. In fact, given India’s state terrorism inKashmir and Kulbushan Jadhav’s (India’s serving naval officer in Pakistan’scustody) confession of supporting terrorism in Balochistan, India should bedeclared as a state sponsor of terror.
This bluntly stated allegation of providing safe havens to terrorists inPakistan does not carry weight given the fact that the Taliban controlapproximately 40 percent of Afghanistan, where both they and the Haqqanisfind safe haven
Hence, based on misconceived allegations, the closure of the security andmilitary assistance to Pakistan has no justification. On the other hand,the Pakistani officials have suggested many times to the US to apprehendPakistani terrorists hiding in Afghanistan and hand them over to Pakistan,but the US has not responded.
This is a serious situation for Pakistan. And, instead of reigning in Indiafrom destabilising Balochistan, President Trump has advocated for anenhanced role of India in Afghanistan.
While cutting security assistance, President Trump has not realised thatwithout Pakistan’s active cooperation it will be difficult to achieve peacein Afghanistan and any further harsh steps against it will hurt the USinterests in the region more than Pakistan’s. As mentioned by The New YorkTimes, the US will have to find a solution if Pakistan denies air andground passage of the US supplies in Afghanistan, particularly when the UScannot find an alternative route due to its sour relations with Turkey,Iran and Russia.
As Christine Fair has said, “In Afghanistan, the US strategy gets defeatedby the logistics”. As far as Pakistan is concerned, due to aid cuts, itwill be able to find other sources of economic assistance, like China andGulf countries and will also adopt strict economic discipline to becomeself-reliant in the long run.
A persistent and tough behaviour of the US will also compel Pakistan tomove further closer to the China and Russia and since the US has alreadyhurt Iran, Turkey and Russia on various grounds, this situation might bringChina, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Russia together. Such a scenario, ifmaterialises, will impact the US supremacy in Asia because then India willalso become hesitant to sustain its current increasing alliance with theUS.
Therefore, while straining relations with Pakistan, it seems that PresidentTrump and his team are failing to realise that Pakistan’s strategicsignificance to peace and stability in Afghanistan and adjoining regions ismuch more than India, as many countries of these regions are joining theCPEC. However, the good sign is that despite the undue pressure of the US,Pakistan is willing to maintain good relations with it, provided the USadministration decides to work with Pakistan based on mutual trust andrespect.
Written by: Muhammad Hanif