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| US-Pak ties under severe strain? | | | The US-Pakistan relations are under severe stress and strain following Islamabad's refusal to accept Washington's plea for effective operations against the Haqqani group of militants.That Islamabad is so much peeved over the way Washington has been mounting pressure for launching a massive operation against the Haqqani network that the Army Chief,Parvez Kayani,warned Washington against any misdventure as Pakistan was neither Afghanistan nor Iraq because it was a nuclear power.Well Pakistan is neither Afghanistan nor Iraq but it is yet to be in a position,militarily and econmically,that it can measure muscles with the US.If Pakistan has survived severe military and fiscal odds it is the result of massive military and non-military aid it has been providing to Islamabad.No doubt under a 20-year old agreement Islamabad continues to receive military and nonmilitary aid from China but Pakistan is yet to be free from its internal and external problems which have forced it to be on the right side of Washington.
If Pakistan has some reservations on launching operations against the terrorists,especially against the Haqqani network,it is the result of its belief that it was better to give peace a chance.Not only this,Islamabad is not prepared to take the risk of forcing the terrorists to be on the offensive.But events do indicate that Islamabad's policy on giving peace a chance is misplaced because Pakistan continues to be a victim of terrorist attacks.And the US secretary of State,Hillary Clinton,is right when she has suggested to Islamabad that it should not keep the snakes in its backyard.In fact terrorists of various hues,especially the Talibans and the Haqqani network,have been a source of threat to the US forces in Afghanistan.These terrorists,most of them being Afghan rebels,have sneaked into Pakistan fromwhere they have been attacking the NATO and Afghan forces.They have carved out safe sanctuaries in North Waziristan area in Pakistan.That Washington has complete information about the safe sanctuaries for the activists of the Haqqani network is indicated by the US threat that if Islamabad did not move against the terrorists US forces may have no other option but to strike on these hideouts in North Waziristan.
T his very statement is said to have irritated the Pak Army Chief who said that since Pakistan was a nuclear power Washington need nor treat it as spineless as Afghanistan and Iraq.Washington has not cherished this warning and Clinton,during her latest visit to Islamabad,wanted Pakistan not to keep snakes in its backyard because such snakes cannot only bite Islamabad's enemies but Pakistan too.Giving peace a chance is OK but how long ?By awaiting peace Islamabad has complicated the security scenario in Afghanistan and if the situaton in Afghanistan remained fluid for more time it can lead to desabilisation of Afghanistan which is going to affect the security environment in Pakistan to a large extent and in India to a limited extent.And if Islamabad is opposed to any US unilateral action against the Haqqani netwok in North Waziristan its Army should launch a massive operation against the terrorists in the area.It cannot expect Washington to remain indifferent to Pakistan Government's pro-terrorist policies.If Islamabad adopts any delay one cannot rule out direct US strike on the terrorists in North Waziristan. |
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