ISLAMABAD: A wave of anti-American anger has swept Pakistan this past week, triggered both by President Trump’s threat to punish the country for harbouring insurgents and by his invitation to India, Pakistan’s longtime rival, to become more involved in Afghanistan’s future.
Tribal and religious leaders have held protests at border crossings, and banners urging “Say no to America!” have appeared across the capital. Officials have cancelled trips to Washington and asked a State Department official to postpone her planned visit to Pakistan. Across the country’s fractious political spectrum, leaders have raised a collective fist at Trump.
In a stern speech on August 21, the US president laid out a new militarised policy for the region, saying he would send more American troops to Afghanistan and insisting that Pakistan must “do more” to rein in militants or face possible sanctions, such as cutting aid or revoking its status as a major non-NATO ally.
Afghan officials welcomed Trump’s message, but sparked anti-American anger in Pakistan.
“President Trump wants to portray us as a villain despite the huge losses we have suffered in the so-called anti-terrorism war,” said Hafiz Hamdullah, a cleric and legislator. “Both India and the US want to use Afghanistan against us. These charges of terrorist hideouts are just to destabilise Pakistan.”
Raza Rabbani, the Senate chairman, denounced Trump in similar terms. “No country in the world has done more than Pakistan to counter the menace of terrorism,” he declared. Invoking the “legacy of Vietnam,” he said that if Trump “wants Pakistan to become a graveyard for US troops, let him do so.”
In tribal regions along the border, where US drone strikes have killed hundreds of suspected militants and civilians, a crowd of tribesmen chanted, “Long live Pakistan.” In another spot, religious activists held up placards saying, “India, America and Afghanistan are conspiring against Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s National Security Committee, which comprises top military and civilian officials, sharply rejected Trump’s charges of sheltering insurgents and demanded that the US military “eliminate sanctuaries for terrorists” on the Afghan side. “The Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan,” the group declared.
Pakistani officials took other steps to show their unhappiness. They requested that a planned visit by Alice Wells, the senior State Department official dealing with the region, be indefinitely postponed. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, who had been planning a trip to Washington, instead announced that he would travel to China, Russia and Turkey.
Despite the hostile rhetoric, there were signs that US-Pakistan relations are far from collapsing. Over the past few weeks, several low-profile meetings were held between current and former officials from both governments to discuss how to keep relations on an even keel.
National newspapers ran headlines that blasted Trump as a hectoring bully but also published nuanced commentaries calling for pragmatism and patience.
Pakistanis have been even more deeply rattled by Trump’s warm embrace of India, where the current prime minister is an ardent Hindu nationalist and Indian army troops have been waging an aggressive, months-long campaign against protesters in Indian-held Kashmir.
“Trump’s comments about India were more unsettling for Pakistanis than his threats to Pakistan,” said Michael Kugelman, a Pakistan expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington. “The US calling for a deeper Indian footprint in Afghanistan sets off alarm bells across Pakistan. It will cause very real fear.”
A few Pakistani voices have called for a rethinking of Pakistan’s efforts to influence Afghanistan, noting this has created a burden on its resources and a spillover of radicalisation.
“We have sacrificed for so many years to help the United States, and this Afghan war has destroyed us,” said Rehman Malik, former interior minister. “We don’t want anything but their respect. We are a victim of terrorism, not a cause of it. We want peace in Afghanistan, not war. Now America is befriending India at the expense of Pakistan. And that really hurts.”
Published in Daily Times, August 31st 2017.