LAHORE: Pakistan and USA must remain engaged in the best interest of Afghanistan, said US Institute of Peace (USIP) Asia Associate Vice President Moeed Yusuf at a roundtable discussion organised by the Institute for Policy Reforms at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Monday. Earlier, in his opening comments, IPR Chairman Humayun Akhtar Khan said Pakistan’s bilateral relations with USA were based on a narrow range of interests. “For fifteen years, Pakistan and USA have worked closely in the areas of regional security, counter terrorism, terror financing, and on nuclear security. Even within this narrow base, the relationship runs through cycles of fluctuation. And today it stands at an ebb,” he said. Since 9/11, he said, Pakistan has been critical in locating and defeating terrorist threats, adding that the low point of our relations today can be seen in US Congress’ refusal to grant subsidy for F16 planes. “US bilateral assistance has decreased and Coalition Support Fund (CSF) reimbursement is often put on hold. “Both countries have not been able to broad base the relationship. We may not allow our partnership to be lost in mutual lack of trust,” Khan added. Moeed Yusuf on the occasion explained that the fundamental problem in the US-Pakistan relationship has remained transactional at the core despite constant efforts by both sides to create a strategic partnership. “The key issues that drive the relationship include Afghanistan, terrorism and nuclear weapons. Pakistan and the US do not see eye-to-eye on any of these and this leads to periodic tensions even as they continue to cooperate at the same time,” he added. He said while Afghanistan is no longer the US’s number one foreign policy concern, it is still a vital interest and therefore the pressure on Pakistan to ‘do more’ against the Haqqani network is likely to continue. Yusuf saw little hope of a total convergence in strategies between the two sides, as Pakistan believes that using force against the Haqqani network can create a major backlash within Pakistan. He stressed that both sides needed to continue engaging in the best interest of Afghanistan – with the aim of helping to end the insurgency in the country. He also highlighted the importance of a positive Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship and the danger in Kabul’s approach to single out Pakistan as being responsible for its problems. Yusuf argued that despite tensions over Afghanistan, both sides understood the importance of avoiding the mistakes of the 1990s whereby the bilateral relationship was cut off. He said that he was convinced that both sides remained committed to continuing the relationship, adding that the challenge was for the two sides to isolate their tensions over Afghanistan from the broader relationship so that their cooperation on other issues can continue. He felt that both governments needed to work harder on changing the negative narratives about each other in their countries because these narratives were responsible for the mistrust and made it harder for them to convince each other of their sincerity.