Daily Times

Last week, a congratulatory telephone conversation between United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Imran Khan, stirred up disagreements as to what had actually been discussed between the two men, with Islamabad calling Washington’s account of the discussion ‘factually incorrect’.

According to a U.S. State Department readout, Pompeo called Khan to express his eagerness to improve the bilateral relationship between the two countries and looked forward to working with Pakistan’s new government.

However, the readout’s assertion that ‘Secretary Pompeo raised the importance of Pakistan taking decisive action against all terrorists operating in Pakistan and its vital role in promoting the Afghan peace process’ led to the dispute. A tweet by Mohmmed Faisal, the spokesperson for Foreign Ministry, called the State Department’s readout as ‘factually incorrect’ and urged for an immediate correction. In response, the State Department’s spokesperson Heather Nauret, said, “we stand by our readout.”

Despite the U.S. framing the call as a positive step in moving the U.S.-Pakistan relationship forward, Khan’s new government appears to have taken umbrage to the U.S. suggestion that terrorists continue to operate in Pakistan.

Commenting on the matter, Cameron Munter, former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, says, “terrorism is sensitive to Pakistan because of the losses Pakistan has suffered, civilian and military, at the hands of terrorists.” The sensitivity arises because Pakistan believes the U.S. fails to recognise the sacrifices made in its war or terror, according to Michael Kugelman, the deputy director of the Asia Programme and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Centre. He says, “Pakistan believes the U.S. does not appreciate its (Pakistan’s) efforts to counteract this problem.”

Although the U.S. has repeatedly acknowledged Pakistan’s endeavours to eradicate militants from its soil, both in private and public, it is still not enough, says Kugleman. Pakistan asserts it has worked hard to eliminate anti-state militants, with the reduction in terrorist violence as proof of its commitment to combating terrorism. For the U.S., however, Pakistan has failed to completely eliminate militants that target U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan has gone after the terrorists that threaten it the most and the US the least, while it has not gone after the terrorists that threaten it the least and the U.S. the most,” says Kugelman, citing the perception in the U.S. This core strategic disconnect continues to be a source of ‘mistrust’ in the U.S.- Pakistan relationship, he explains.

Imran Khan has long been a vocal critic of the U.S. drone programme. He has accused previous Pakistani administrations of publicly condemning the strikes, while privately giving U.S. commanders permission to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Therefore, Khan does not want to be publicly viewed as ‘dictated to by the US’, Kugelman says. “His government, then, has little desire to have U.S. complaints about Pakistan magnified in the public domain, especially if these complaints have been lodged directly to Khan.”

The US-Pakistan relationship is unlikely to improve any time soon especially, as U.S. President Donald Trump has made terrorism his top priority. He refuses to collaborate with Pakistan on broader issues until Pakistan cracks down on militants targeting U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “These militants serve useful purposes for Pakistan’s foreign policy, and so there’s little reason to expect the Pakistani state taking aim at such assets – and especially not at America’s behest,” Kugelman believes.

Although Munter believes ‘Pakistan faces serious challenges’, he says Pompeo’s forthcoming visit to Pakistan, scheduled for the first week of September, can serve as an opportunity for Pakistan’s leaders to explain how they propose to address these challenges, so that both countries can do their best to find where interests and capabilities coincide. This will enable them to make plans to work together toward common goals, he says.

Published in Daily Times, August 29^th 2018.