Of warnings and aid cuts

On Tuesday, President Asif Ali Zardari met a US delegation and warned them against any aid cuts by the US. President Zardari said that not only would an aid cut have an impact on Pakistan’s deteriorating economy, it would also send a negative signal to the public about the US government’s commitment towards the people of Pakistan. President Zardari stressed upon the visiting dignitaries that Pakistan and the US shared a common objective – that of achieving reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan. President Zardari said, “We must not allow some incidents to roll back the labour of building an enduring and multifaceted equation as it was no option for the two countries at this critical time…the drag on our relations due to operational irritants can effectively be avoided if the terms of engagement are clearly defined and followed in their true essence by the two countries.” It must be noted that General Musharraf did not negotiate any terms of engagement with the US and allowed the Americans to operate freely on our soil, without check or restraint. That policy has come to haunt us now.

Relations between the US and Pakistan are at their lowest ebb this year. Though things were already far from rosy between the two allies, the Raymond Davis affair and then the Abbottabad raid further complicated matters. Pakistan expelled US military trainers following the May 2 raid. It has been reported that US Senator Carl Levin asked army chief General Kayani to allow the military trainers to come back so that the suspended $ 800 million military aid could be restored. Whether this offer was actually made has not been established but the suspension of military aid to Pakistan has been seen by many as a pressure tactic by the US. Many in the US are angry at Pakistan for its dual policy vis-à-vis the war on terror; they do not see any reason to give money to the Pakistani military when it is involved in helping the Taliban. The US has not suspended civilian aid to Pakistan, which goes to show that the target of their ire is actually the military and not the people of Pakistan. There is no denying that Pakistan has suffered a lot in the war on terror but then it can also not be denied that from the very beginning of the war on terror, General Musharraf’s regime tried to hoodwink the world by overtly and covertly supporting the Taliban. Pakistan thinks of the Afghan Taliban as its strategic assets. What we have failed to realise is that there is no distinction between the ‘good Taliban’ and the ‘bad Taliban’ as they are all one and the same. If our military establishment thinks that the local Taliban are the sole enemies of Pakistan, they are in for a surprise. There is no guarantee that the Afghan Taliban will not aid and abet the local Taliban post-troops withdrawal in Afghanistan. It is time that our military establishment thinks rationally for once. Terrorists operating on our soil have wreaked enough havoc inside Pakistan. This country cannot survive if action against the terrorists is not taken.

As far as aid is concerned, Pakistan is a dependent state. Our ruling elite has not been able to break the begging bowl since independence. The country cannot function without international aid and/or loans. Unless and until we come up with a substantial economic plan to reduce our dependence on others, Pakistan’s economic situation would remain unchanged for the foreseeable  future.