Pak-US tensions

Talking to a group of senior US legislators led by Republican Senator John McCain, Prime Minister Gilani said US policies could hurt the bilateral ties. He complained about the continuing drone attacks, which have become too frequent after President Obama's assumption of office, delay in the imbursement of $2 billion under Coalition Support Funds (CSF), and the new policy of a full body pat down for citizens of Pakistan despite its being a strategic partner of the US.
A day earlier when President Zardari had pointed out that drone attacks inside Pakistan's territory woefully undermine national security and provide incentives to the insurgents, Senator McCain had defended the attacks as being vital for the regional security.
The issue of drone attacks continues to fan anti-US sentiment in the country while government critics accuse it of covert collaboration with the US. Both Zardari and Gilani have rightly demanded the transfer of drone technology so that Pakistan can itself target militants who operate in the inaccessible parts of tribal areas.
This would obviate the need for foreign aircraft to enter Pakistan's airspace, which amounts to gross violation of the country's sovereignty. As long as the issue remains unresolved, it would continue to be a source of tension between the two countries.
A speedy disbursement of the outstanding amount of CSF funds is vital for Pakistan, which suffers from a severe resource crunch. Over the past eight years, Pakistan has suffered $35 billion in economic losses and damage to its infrastructure as a result of terrorist attacks. Since 2007 alone, terrorists have struck at more than 3,500 places.
Meanwhile, the international community has been found long on promises and short on delivery. The assistance received from the Friends of Pakistan is much below the country's expectations. Pakistan immediately needs over $590 million to rebuild the devastated Swat and South Waziristan regions, which is required to win the battle of hearts and minds.
Unless promises made by the international community are honoured, Islamabad will have to divert a part of its already reduced development allocations to the reconstruction of the devastated areas. Pakistan also needs funds to continue the military operations in the tribal areas, which are estimated to cost Islamabad $8.5 billion a year.
Under the circumstances, there is a dire need to urgently imburse the CSF. One learns that a US team is presently auditing the financial assistance, under the CSF, for the year 2009. It is required to finish its job speedily. The full body pat down enforced on 14 countries, including Pakistan, after the attempted bombing of a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit is both humiliating and discriminatory.
Human rights organisations have already protested against the measure terming it a case of racial profiling. As Gilani puts it, policies of the type create a great deal of anxiety among the people of Pakistan and need to be reviewed critically with a view to withdrawing them without any further loss of time.
There are other sources of tension between the two countries also, including the repeated calls by the US to "do more". Pakistan is clearly unhappy with the new US strategy in the region. Shah Mahmud Qureshi has made it clear that Islamabad will neither allow the expansion of drone attacks to Balochistan, nor permit hot pursuit by foreign troops.
Any move in the direction would cause strong public reaction and could cause instability. While Washington insists on body search of Pakistanis visiting the US, it is surprising that it should express extra sensitivity when its citizens or consular staff are stopped by police for violation of rules, or when the vehicles carrying them with fake number plates are subjected to search.
During the last few months, numerous incidents of the sort have taken place, the most recent being in Gwadar. There is, therefore, a need on the part of the US consular staff to respect Pakistani laws and provide prior intimation to the authorities whenever they seek to enter sensitive areas in accordance with diplomatic protocol.
Of late, activities by the US security contractors too have roused concern in Pakistan, leading to the arrest of a few Pakistanis who were assisting them. The media in Pakistan has expressed unease over the inordinate expansion of the US consular staff, avowedly required for the imbursement of aid to the country. This led Pakistan to hold up visas for a number of American citizens, causing an altogether uncalled for uproar in Washington.
The success of the campaign against terrorism depends on greater co-operation between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan and the US need to discuss and get over the irritants that create bad blood at the earliest, so that cordial and strategic relations between the two countries could be strengthened.
Pakistan can do much more to eradicate terrorism if it has the required finances and the drone technology. It can deploy hundreds of thousands of more troops to crush terrorism and seal the Durand Line if there is normalisation with India, which is possible if the latter is effectively persuaded to take tangible measures aimed at resolving the Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.