ISLAMABAD – A raft of acerbic public messages has created uncertainty aboutthe course of US-Pakistan relations. Strategic circles in Washington haveunleashed a barrage of accusations. Pakistan has been described as a“frenemy,” receiving US assistance while supporting the Afghan Taliban,particularly the Haqqani network, which is responsible for lethal attackson Afghan and US forces.
Pakistan sees this as scapegoating, and denies any overt or covert supportfor the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Army has cleared terrorist bases inthe tribal areas of North and South Waziristan. Safe havens for Afghanrefugees exist, but there are no training camps or officially sanctionedsanctuaries for terrorists. Pakistan is fencing its border with Afghanistanto prevent unregulated cross-border flow.
Both Pakistan and the US have common goals in Afghanistan. Pakistan wouldlike to see the US succeed in stabilizing Afghanistan.
Besides military and intelligence cooperation, Islamabad has extended vitallogistical support for the US/NATO mission across the border. PresidentDonald Trump’s decision to continue to shoulder the burdens of Afghanistanwith an open-ended engagement is good for the region.
Pakistan and the US have identical goals in eliminating terrorism andviolent extremism. Islamabad played a pivotal role in ensuring Americansuccess in decimating Al-Qaeda. Eliminating Daesh from the region is ashared critical priority.
Islamabad’s success in defeating the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) andother terrorist groups is indicative of the resilience of Pakistan’speople, and the courage and professional competence of its military.
Throughout the years since 9/11, Pakistan and the US have cooperated atevery level. Military and intelligence cooperation and coordination werecentral to accomplishing shared goals. Even today, there are robustmilitary-to-military consultations.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had useful conversations in Islamabad, whileGen. Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command, and Gen. John NicholsonJr., who heads American forces in Afghanistan, are in regular contact withPakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Bajwa and Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff Committee Gen. Zubair Hayat.
*The two countries have been on the same side of history for almost sevendecades, so recent efforts to portray an irreparable rupture in relationsare self-defeating and misplaced.*
Addressing the recent Munich Security Conference, Bajwa said the PakistaniArmy “has waged a relentless fight against terrorism and violent extremismat a monumental cost.
More than 35,000 Pakistanis have been killed and more than 48,000critically wounded or disabled.” Only a fraction of the financial cost,which exceeds $250 billion, “is actually shared by our global partners,” headded.Significantly, Bajwa said: “Pakistan’s lasting domestic peace hinges onpeace and stability in Afghanistan… We are fully committed to theinternational consensus that political reconciliation is the only solutionto the Afghan issue. While we are actively supporting the new US strategyin the region… we are not leaving any stone unturned to try and do our bestin bringing the parties to the conflict to the negotiation table.”
This is a sincere and clear enunciation of Pakistan’s policy. Given thatour interests converge with those of the US, what is the political ruckusabout? Is it really about Afghanistan or factors reshaping Eurasiangeopolitics? In-depth conversations about the state of the world may revealareas of strategic convergence and scope for cooperation between Pakistanand the US.
The two countries have been on the same side of history for almost sevendecades. Efforts to portray an irreparable rupture in relations areself-defeating and misplaced. Would our American friends not find a momentto pause and reflect on the costs to the US of losing an old friend? Asense of drift in bilateral relations is momentary and unwarranted. In achanging world and a changed region, the US and Pakistan are togetheradrift.
By: Salman Bashir – Former diplomat