ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is struggling to thwart US advances amid speculationsthat Washington could unilaterally decide to take direct action against thealleged militants’ hideouts on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border,diplomatic sources said.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation thatlink>Pakistanlink> was making efforts to stop the USlink> from hurting Pakistan’s sovereignty.
One official said: “They are very assertive and hardly ready to listen [toour point of view]. This is a very delicate situation. We are trying toplacate them.”
He added: “Pakistan of course will not allow the USlink> military to land insidelink>Pakistanlink> and take action [against the militants]but at the same time we cannot afford to lock horns with the sole globalpower.”
Another official said link>Pakistanlink> was prepared to “cooperate” with the USlink>except the joint operation proposal.
“Their [the US] tone is threatening but we still hope good sense willprevail. The civil and the military leadership are not ready to toleratedirect US link> action insidelink>Pakistanlink> . We are hoping the USlink>will not impose it, and if they do, we willdecide the future line of action. We have faced drone attacks in the tribalareas but the possible landing of US link> forceswill be a real test of our patience. Every effort is being made to avoidthis situation,” he maintained.
This week, US link> Secretary of State RexTillerson said his country was prepared to work withlink>Pakistanlink> to defeat terrorist organisations.
In an article published in the New York Times, he wrote: “That country[Afghanistan] cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, as it was, in thedays before the September 11 attacks. link>Pakistan link> must contribute by combatingterrorist groups on its own soil.”
The secretary of state, who visited link>Pakistan link> in October, saidlink>Pakistanlink> “must demonstrate its desire to partnerwith us link>.”
Pakistan’s military said it had already done enough and it was the USlink> and Afghanistan’s turn to “do more”.
Military spokesperson Major-General Asif Ghafoor said: “Pakistan has twicefought an imposed and imported war insidelink>Pakistanlink> . We have sacrificed. We have paid ahuge price. link>Pakistanlink> has done enough and we cannot do anymore for others.”
He said if link>Pakistanlink> had not done enough, al-Qaeda could nothave been defeated.
This month, the US link> Vice President, MikePence, told the US link> troops in Bagram Air Basethat US link> President Donald Trump had “putlink>Pakistanlink> on notice”.
He claimed link>Pakistanlink> had “much to lose”, if it continues to“harbour criminals”.
Pence said link>Pakistanlink> must stop offering “safe havens” toTaliban factions and militants.
He alleged link>Pakistanlink> had provided “safe haven to theTaliban” and other terrorist groups “too often”.
The Foreign Office responded sharply saying allies do not put each other onnotice.
The foreign ministry said Pence’s statement was at “variance with theextensive conversations we have had with the USlink> administration.”
Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal saidlink>Pakistanlink> was struggling to find common groundwith the US link> amid tension.
“We are in talks and are trying to find common ground. We have not losthope. However, [if all efforts fail] we can look for other options [likecreating a new bloc led by Russia and China],” he said.
This month, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif also asked the USlink> to learn from the experiences oflink>Pakistanlink> in war against terrorism.
The foreign minister said that the frustration of the USlink> could be clearly seen through statements atthe United Nations General Assembly session, adding that the failure inAfghan war was the reason of frustration.