US - Pakistan ties running through a bad patch

The warm and strategically important ties between the United States and its important South Asian ally Pakistan are running through rough weather for quite some time for a variety of reasons and the relationship is looking increasingly strained. Many factors are contributing to this deteriorating condition of the bilateral ties and both Washington and Islamabad believe that a nosedive in their cordial links would be detrimental to both, but certain developments are taking place somewhat as a logical corollary to ground realities and the two governments can hardly arrest this situation. However, the United States and Pakistan are seeking to maintain their traditional warm ties, which is of enormous importance for both military and other strategic reasons. Nonetheless, the signs of worsening of the ties cannot be swept under the carpet at the moment and both sides are conscious that a reversal is necessary for the strategic importance of the two countries. A rare condemnation by the Pakistan army chief of an especially deadly drone attack and Washington's abrupt dismissal of his concern is the latest and clear sign how troubled the vital relationship has become and this points to the continuation of ruptures in the otherwise cooperative ties. The issue of CIA contractor Raymond Davies had raised enough dust to dampen the close ties when he was accused of killing two Pakistanis and Pakistan was refusing to free him despite repeated pleas from the United States. Finally, the CIA man has been released as part of a deal that saw heirs of the victims receive US$2.3 million as compensation, but this has also led to a public outcry in Pakistan protesting the freeing of Raymond Davies. Most Pakistanis seem to be unhappy at the release of the CIA contractor, who killed two Pakistanis and confessed to the killings but said he acted in self-defence. The matter dragged to the courts and Davies was confined in a jail while US officials and lawmakers spared no effort for his release, claiming that Davies enjoyed diplomatic immunity, a contention Islamabad initially rejected. Even influential Democrat senator John Kerry flew to Pakistan for this purpose and pleaded for his release. Pakistanis resented such efforts as an anti-American sentiment grew in the country. In any case, the Islamabad government eventually caved in and the CIA man was released, but for Pakistan, it could exact sufficient compensation for the heirs of the two victims. Davies said he opened fire on two persons in Lahore as he came under attack from them during a robbery attempt. Few Pakistanis agree to this position and the matter was seen as an issue of national prestige. True, Davies has been allowed to go off the hook, but his release has further sharpened anti-American feelings in the country, particularly from the Islamic parties. Supporters of these organisations are holding demonstrations and burning effigies of Raymond Davies in different cities, while the government of prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is also caught is an awkward situation. The condemnation by army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani of a deadly American drone attack has introduced a new element of complexity in the ties as the public spat highlights the somewhat dysfunctional nature of the Washington-Islamabad relationship. Pakistan officials are often quite quick to fan the flames of anti-American sentiments, even when they quietly support the United States in the background - as is believed to be the case with the drone attacks. This is something symptomatic of the nature of the current ties between the two countries, even though both speak of the necessity of close collaboration in many fields. It is just not certain issues that are contributing rather unexpectedly to this unhealthy situation as both sides feel that the warmth appears to be waning owing to a number of factors. The very fact that president Barack Obama chose to skip Pakistan on his Asian tour last year while visiting Pakistan's arch enemy India was clear evidence that things were not moving as expected for Islamabad. True, Washington had announced massive economic and military assistance to Pakistan before Obama embarked on the trip, but this could not hide Islamabad's anger and frustration. The US is seen as Pakistan's ally, which is benefiting from Islamabad's role in the crucially important Afghan war that is of great interest for Washington. When the chief executive of that country drops Pakistan from the trip while he goes to India raises a number of eyebrows in Pakistan about the rationale behind the close strategic ties with America. However, the Obama administration sought to ally fears that it signalled a setback in ties with Pakistan and insisted that links with India was essentially on commercial and economic grounds - the country being very big and an emerging economy. Here, certainly the China factor weighed heavily in Obama's visit since the communist giant is a regional rival of New Delhi both militarily and economically and the US seeks closer ties with India also for this reason. Growing differences between the United States and Pakistan could be ominous for American attempts to get Islamabad to boost its help in the Afghan war as the conflict is proving intractable even though the US-led NATO forces are desperately keen to see an end of the war in its favour. The US wants Pakistan to target in its territory the Taliban militants, who attack regularly the NATO troops in Afghanistan. Islamabad cannot always oblige the US as it has its own limitations and priorities. Analysts feel that the bilateral ties are becoming quite unsustainable - a trend which both nations can ill-afford for a variety of reasons stemming from their security and strategic interests. The bottom line is that the only superpower of the world can hardly turn a blind eye to the sentiments of an ally that has become increasingly a key figure in the Afghan war in which the US has great stakes. Likewise, Pakistan can hardly afford a meltdown in the existing close ties with the US despite its close links with China. Then again, the US-Pakistan ties are going through a bad patch and it remains to be seen how the two sides deal with the worsening trend in the relationship. zaglulbss@yahoo.com