US/Muslim world relations: The US-Pakistan tango

Last updated on: March 25, 2007 at 10:00 pm by Muqtedar Khan

US/Muslim world relations: The US-Pakistan tango 2007-03-25T22:00:00-04:00 Muqtedar Khan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Paid in dollars or rupees

Are US-Pakistan relations undergoing a significant transformation?

There are clear indications that Washington is dissatisfied with the status quo and is seeking to ratchet up additional pressure to make Pakistan more compliant and responsive to America’s security interests. It is also possible that US-Pakistan relations will become the battleground where Democrats settle political scores with the Bush administration.

Since 2001, when Pakistan abandoned its support for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and began cooperating with the United States, US-Pakistan relations have centered singularly on US demands. Pakistan’s role has been to comply.

Nearly six years after 9/11, Osama Bin Laden is still hiding somewhere in Pakistan, the Taliban has regrouped and reconsolidated — reportedly in Pakistan — and Washington is having second thoughts about the honesty and the utility of Pakistani cooperation.

Following the Democratic Party takeover of the US Congress last November, there has been increasing pressure on the Bush administration to re-evaluate its relationship with Pakistan. The most prominent move in this regard is the bill approved by the House of Representatives in January which stipulates that continued financial assistance to Pakistan be contingent upon a certification from the president of the United States that the state of Pakistan is doing its utmost to contain the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. A milder version of the bill is currently being debated in the Senate.

The thinking behind these moves in the US legislature is informed by two emerging developments. The first relates to the growing debate within the United States over an Iraq exit strategy. The logical consequence of movements pushing to draw down troops in Iraq has been a shift in US attention away from the original focus of the US war against militant jihadism � i.e. Afghanistan and the unfinished business of hunting down the Al-Qaeda leadership.

The second reason pertains to the administration’s visible unhappiness with the performance of its reluctant ally in the so-called “global war on terror,” and the visit by Vice President Dick Cheney himself to Pakistan to tell the General how things stand between them. In public, the administration is still defending President Musharraf as an important ally in the war on terror, but clearly the Mush-Bush pie is turning sour.

It is in this dual-faceted context that the question of Pakistan’s performance (or the lack thereof) comes into play. Given that the Taliban insurgency has exhibited phenomenal growth in recent years, especially in 2006, there is concern that the Musharraf government is allowing Pashtun jihadists and their transnational allies to use Pakistani soil as a launch pad for attacks in Afghanistan and beyond.

Is the Musharraf regime doing all it can in the war against terrorists? How much can and should the United States demand from Pakistan? And perhaps most importantly, what can and should Islamabad do with respect to both issues?

The domestic political climates in both the United States and Pakistan also transform the tone of their relationship. The US government is being pushed to demand more and Pakistan is being cornered into a situation where it can deliver less.

As far as Pakistan’s track-record is concerned, clearly it has significantly aided US efforts to disrupt the Al-Qaeda network’s ability to operate. In this regard, Pakistan has incurred the loss of several hundred of its soldiers as well as the domestic instability that President Musharraf’s government continues to deal with. That said, the Pakistanis have not been able to block Taliban activity within their borders. In fact, the last three years have seen the Talibanization of the Pashtun-dominated areas on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan.

The US-Pakistan alliance is critical to the stability of South Asia, to the success of US objectives in Afghanistan and to the ongoing effort to combat Al-Qaeda. Positive US-Pakistan relations are also important for the United States given its myriad problems and low approval ratings in the broader Muslim world. Pakistan needs US economic and military aid to keep up with a rapidly growing India. Without US support, Pakistan will find its geopolitical interests dangerously exposed; without Pakistani assistance, the United States will find it impossible to deal with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Washington must realize that Pakistan is not just an agent to whom foreign policy tasks can be outsourced. It has its own national interests, its domestic political imperatives and geopolitical concerns. Yes, it must be pressured to do more, but without jeopardizing its domestic stability or long-term utility to the United States. Democrats in particular must not use it as a proxy to attack President Bush, for they may inadvertently do much harm to US interests if they undermine the US-Pakistan relationship.

Pakistan, on the other hand, must realize that it has to do more, at home as well as abroad. At home it must step up its efforts at de-Talibanization and re-democratization of its polity. Abroad, it must work to improve the foundation of its relations with Washington, which is critical to its long-term geopolitical and economic well-being. It must work towards the consolidation of US-Pakistan relations and step up its efforts to answer its numerous critics within the Washington Beltway.

It is in the interest of all parties that Pakistan remain a stable country, a strong ally of the United States and a bulwark against extremism in its region.

Muqtedar Khan teaches at the University of Delaware and is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Kamran Bokhari is Senior Analyst on the Middle East and South Asia with Strategic Forecasting, Inc.

Commentary

Muqtedar Khan

Previous Post

March 22, 2007

Islamic law in the West: Leave the Qur’an out of this, please

Next Post

March 26, 2007 Pakistan Judiciary: A misjudged reaction to reform

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What kind of animal swallowed Jonah?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A camel A serpent A lion A great fish