Daily Times

As a Pakistani, President Donald Trump’s New Year tweet came as a rude shock given that we have lost so much more than any other country in this war on terror. The blood of our valiant soldiers and ordinary citizens speaks volumes on this count. Therefore I am writing this article as an ordinary citizen of Pakistan who has always looked at the US, with all the criticisms we might have of its role, as a historic friend and an ally.

Equally disconcerting as President Trump’s tweet is the reaction by certain sections in Pakistan who have jumped on the anti-American bandwagon proclaiming that US can never be our friend, forgetting that Pakistan US alliance has been one of the greatest success stories at least in terms of geo-politics and global strategy. Yes, there were mistakes made on both sides but must we in our haste to find enemies deny that it was this alliance that was largely responsible in the defeat and ultimate demise of Soviet Union? I have nothing against Communism or Socialism but looking back is it not clear that Soviet Union had expansionist ambitions and was behind Afghanistan’s attempts to change the international border in our North West? Ever since independence we have looked towards the US to bolster us against the impending threat that Soviet Union and its alliance with India and Afghanistan posed to our national sovereignty. This is why we entered into SEATO and CENTO Pacts.

There were two major mistakes that both Pakistan and the US made during and after the Afghan war. First was the decision to enlist radical Deobandi Muslim clerics, Madaris and foreign Muslim fighters in the ‘Jehad’. This is what created Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda. The second was the US decision to abandon the region after the war was over and to sanction Pakistan under the Pressler Amendment. Left to its own devices, Pakistan was forced to use whatever means necessary to secure the Afghan border and this meant installing a government friendly to it.

Policy makers in Pakistan at least need to realize that there is no escaping the US. China — our all-weather friend- is no doubt a source of great support for us but we cannot afford to put our eggs in one basket

The Taliban regime that we had played a role in installing in the 1990s had become a threat to us whether we like to admit it or not. Osama bin Laden from his hideouts in Afghanistan was already attempting to de-stabilize Pakistan and take it over during the 1990s. It was under Nawaz Sharif’s second government that plans had been made to take out Osama Bin Laden through Pakistani commandos — an operation that was then aborted for unknown reasons. After 9/11 the Musharraf regime did the right thing by siding with the US in the war on terror. With Pakistan back on the US bandwagon, the sanctions were removed and Pakistan benefitted greatly from the inflow of US aid. Had we not done so, the US might well have allied itself to India against Pakistan and the resulting war in the region would have been catastrophic. Instead Pakistan experienced a sharp increase in economic growth rate between 2002 and 2006 touching almost 8 percent at one point. US had a lot to gain from this new relationship as Pakistan became the conduit of supplies through land and air. So to say that this relationship was bad for either Pakistan or the US is historically inaccurate.

Now there are some valid questions that should be posed here. Why has the US with all its firepower, equipment, 700 billion dollars and surges in 15 years failed to drive out the Taliban from the regions controlled by them? Pakistan alone cannot be blamed for the fact that close to half of Afghanistan remains under either Taliban or their supporters as far away from Pakistan as Kunduz. The US wants Pakistan to take on the Haqqani Group in our territories but can Pakistan afford to do so given that it might mean destabilizing Pakistan at a crucial time when we are heading into another General Election? These are not lies and deceit. Pakistan has to move cautiously in a very difficult environment and it is important that Pakistan’s oldest ally understands this crucial point.

US and Pakistan can gain a lot more from working together than sniping at each other. As someone who has always spoken out against unconscionable restrictions on religious freedoms and human rights in Pakistan, I note that the US has listed Pakistan on a special watch list. It would have been a welcome move for those struggling for religious freedom in the country, had it not been timed so badly. By apparently linking religious freedom, which is a legal imperative under Pakistan’s Constitution as well as one of the basic principles on which the country was founded, to geo-politics I fear that a grave mistake has been committed which has taken away the leverage US policy makers might have had on Pakistan’s policy makers with regards to this very important issue. Now it will inevitably be framed as an issue of national sovereignty instead of purely a human rights issue on which common ground could have been found between US and Pakistan. Caught in the crossfire will be those patriotic Pakistanis who want Pakistan to live up to its founding promise of religious freedom.

So what should these two estranged allies do now? First, we must realize that both of us need each other. There are many Americans of Pakistani heritage serving the US with distinction in all spheres of life. US is also the destination of choice for our future scientists, engineers, economists, lawyers etc who would one day return to Pakistan equipped with that knowledge to make Pakistan a truly modern state. The US also cannot ignore a Muslim majority country of 200 million, which is the world’s 24th largest economy with the potential of becoming the 16th largest in less than 30 years. Therefore, policy makers in Pakistan at least need to realize that there is no escaping the US. China — our all-weather friend- is no doubt a source of great support for us but we cannot afford to put our eggs in one basket. Nor can a country that aspires to be a multi-party constitutional democracy afford to rely solely on essentially authoritarian states like China and Russia for the intellectual nourishment of its citizens. Chinese and Russian universities will be poor substitute for the world of knowledge that the US universities have to offer. In any event we would be infinitely more useful to China as an ally if we maintained good ties with the US. Similarly, US must look at the past 70 years of its ties with Pakistan and India and see who has truly been a reliable US ally amongst these two South Asian countries.

The writer is a practising lawyer. He blogs at http://globallegalforum.blogspot.com and his twitter handle is @therealylh

Published in Daily Times, January 8^th 2018.