ISLAMABAD – For 70 years, Pakistan and the United States have been workingtogether. And they also achieved results. For example, during the ’60s whenthere was a very big challenge from the communist world, and then in the’80s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and then again in 2000sagainst Al-Qaeda. There is no denying the fact that Pak-US joint effortsagainst all these mighty challenges did not prove futile.

This time around, the US and Pakistan, unfortunately, started focusing moreon what divides them rather than on what unites them. Something that onecan hope will change soon. The relations between the two countries toucheda new low when on January 1, 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted, “TheUnited States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars inaid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies anddeceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to theterrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help.

No more!” The tweet and many such statements made Pakistan realise that itis being singled out, humiliated and even threatened. It also came as asurprise because till that time talks between Islamabad and Washington weremoving in the direction of finding a common ground.

There is still enough work to be done by Pakistan and US, particularlystabilizing Afghanistan and eliminating terrorism from the region. In thelast couple of years, Pakistan has come a long way in defeating terrorismand that’s a reality. North Waziristan, which for centuries has been dubbedas ‘No man’s land’ by the British, Indian and Russian empires, has beencleaned up and secured by the Pakistan military in a short time of threeyears.

Pakistan has always stood with the US and has regarded it as a strategicpartner. Be it the war against former USSR or 21st century’s war on terror,Pakistan stood as a frontline state with its strategic partner paying avery high price in terms of men and material.

Due to a comprehensive strategy and huge sacrifices made by Pakistan, theregion has seen peace after more than a decade. Pakistan is on its way toperpetual peace in the region together with the US.

However, involvement of India in the affairs will do nothing more thandamaging the peace efforts. In the same manner, US using Afghanistanagainst Pakistan would be most unwise thing to do as it would hamper theongoing peace initiatives in the war-torn country. Pakistan supportsintra-Afghan dialogue and believes that it will bring lasting peace to thecountry and region at large provided US starts seeing Pakistan through abilateral prism, not through the Afghan lens or with reference to Indo-USpartnership.

US concerns emanating from Pakistan’s growing partnership with China areunwarranted and just a figment of delusional thinking. Pakistan haslong-term optimistic approach of win-win scenario with both US and China.It is true that China has been an even larger supplier of arms to Pakistanthan the United States, contributing to almost 40 percent of the nation’smilitary hardware. As Pakistan’s all-weather friend, China is likely togrow in importance in the years to come. With coproduction of the JF-17fighter jet, China has moved from supplier of low-tech to high-techhardware.

Keeping in view the history of security engagement between Pakistan and theUS, policymakers in Islamabad are forced to take their decisions in a muchwider geographical context.

Choices are evaluated not only in the light of Pakistan’s relationship withthe US but also Pakistan’s relations as a friend or an adversary with otherplayers, including China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and especiallyIndia. In the context of China; the total volume of Pak-US bilateral tradestands at 5.78 billion dollars whereas that of Pak-China is 13.36 billiondollars, which makes China an emerging vital strength for Pakistan’seconomy in future. However, it by no means implies that Pakistan no morewants cordial and balanced foreign policy with US.

Post-2011, the Pak-US relations have gradually deteriorated. At present,this relationship has undergone a new paradigm shift wherein both sides-Washington and Islamabad – are drawing new terms of engagement: Americantransactionalism is being replaced with pragmatic realism, whereasIslamabad seems to focus on a policy of cautious gradualism. Today,Washington must accept the reality that its Cold War policy of nurturingJihadism against the then Soviet Union in Afghanistan has caused aboomerang effect in fostering extremism in the region.

While fighting this war on terror, Islamabad has had to compromise itsinternal security at the cost of addressing US external concerns. Now wehave our own security limitations, and, hence cannot ‘do more’. Pakistan’ssacrifices in the war on terror are unprecedented. It had to bear a costseveral times greater than the economic support given by the US and itswestern allies. Still, we are ready to do our best to deter terrorism.

The worsening Pak-US relations are, in fact, a reflection of thecontradictions inherent in the bilateral relationship since it began in the1950s. However this is unlikely to lead to a total breakup.

As long as there is no simple way to square this circle of contradictorystrategic expectations, Washington and Islamabad appear doomed to livetogether for years if not decades with internal contradictions built intotheir relationship. Each needs the other to attain important immediategoals, even if their grand strategies pertaining to the region divergesignificantly. So a bad news for some: this autumn in Pak-US relations willalso pass soon.

By: Farooq Khan