On August 3, the Pakistani government approved the signing of the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) with the US, giving legal cover to the potential sale of military hardware to Islamabad. The agreement comes against the backdrop of the rising terrorism incidents in Pakistan, which has grown exponentially since the Taliban’s takeover and US withdrawal in August 2021. After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan US-Pakistan, relations turned cold due to mutual mistrust on terrorism and other regional security issues.
However, despite some pessimistic commentaries, the recent decision to renew the CISMOA suggests that the US is still committed to maintaining and not downgrading its ties with Pakistan, which Washington sees as a major partner in South Asia.
The CISMOA is a key agreement that the US signs with its allies and partner countries for enhanced military and defence cooperation. With Pakistan, the US first signed the agreement in October 2005, which expired in 2020.
With its ‘over the horizon’ operation, Washington demonstrated its concerns over the terrorist threats emerging from Afghanistan.
It gives legal protection to the US Department of Defense for facilitating the sale of military equipment and hardware to these countries. Renewing CISMOA with Pakistan may well resume the military cooperation, which was suspended by the Trump administration after accusing Pakistan of ‘lies and deceit’ in the war on terror in Afghanistan. The US cut $1.3 billion in US security assistance for Pakistan and used pressure tactics such as putting Islamabad on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which Pakistan escaped in October 2022. Moeed W. Yusuf, Pakistan’s former national security advisor, argues that from the Western perspective, Pakistan played a double game in South Asia by selectively targeting terrorist groups that threatened its security. However, the US’s South Asia policy further aggravated the balance vis-à-vis India, making it difficult for Pakistan to fully cooperate.
Relations under the Biden administration continued sliding downward with President Biden terming Pakistan as the “most dangerous” nuclear weapons state “without any cohesion.” Although the State Department tried damage control by reaffirming faith in Pakistan’s nuclear safety protocols, the damage was done.
In July, a US drone strike killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in Kabul, and Taliban defence minister Yaqoob accused Pakistan of allowing its airspace for drone attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denied the accusation. With its ‘over the horizon’ operation, Washington demonstrated its concerns over the terrorist threats emerging from Afghanistan. More importantly, this also highlights the significance of Pakistan’s role in counterterrorism as it shares the threat of cross-border terror attacks from Afghanistan.
Some positive developments followed after extensive diplomatic overtures, especially under the newly formed coalition government in Pakistan, and after a long hiatus, the Biden administration approved the sale of $450 billion security aid to Pakistan to maintain Pakistan’s fleet of F-16 fighter jets. Despite strong disapproval by its strategic partner, India, the US defended the sales as helping Pakistan bolster the fight against ‘terror threats’. Previously, the US-Pakistan also held a counterterrorism dialogue in Islamabad on March 7, 2023, where the two countries pledged to improve collaboration in countering violent extremism and preventing terror financing.
Recently, a UN Security Council report suggests that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al-Qaeda might come under one umbrella and merge. Also, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) training camps in Kunar Province were being used by the TTP. Moreover, Al-Qaeda is reestablishing its influence, and organizing its new training camps in Kunar and Nuristan Province. Hence, the rising threat of terrorism from these terrorist groups poses a shared threat to both Pakistan and the US, making military cooperation more desirable.
It is worth noting that Pakistan is still America’s non-NATO ally in the war on terror, and Washington’s relations with Islamabad are viewed mostly through the lens of Afghanistan. Hence, resuming military cooperation with Pakistan can be viewed as serving their mutual interests in combatting terrorism.
In the context of combating terrorism, the relationship between Pakistan has been complicated. Previously, Pakistan was accused of being tolerant towards the Afghan Taliban, whereas today, the same group is increasing Pakistan’s insecurity with its inaction against the TTP. Hence, Pakistan and the US agreed on getting the Afghan government in Kabul to act against the terrorist group in line with its commitment to the Doha Accord. In this respect, the US has repeatedly shared Pakistan’s concerns on the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan and urged the Taliban regime to take action against the hostile groups. Hence, since the US and Pakistan share the concerns and threats of terrorism, security cooperation between the two countries, especially under the CISMOA, is essential to combatting terrorism in the region.
The writer can be reached at naumanjalil22@gmail.com and tweets @Nauman_Jalil