In announcing his strategy for Afghanistan, US President Donald Trump lashed out at neighboring Pakistan, an ostensible US ally, ordering it to stop giving sanctuary to "agents of chaos, violence and terror." His predecessors have aired similar complaints, and US officials and analysts have long accused Pakistan of playing a double-game with Islamic extremists. How did the US come to ally itself with Pakistan, and where do they go from here? The AP explains.
The US backed Pakistan during the Cold War, and in the 1980s the CIA used it as a staging area for efforts to aid the Afghan Mujahedeen, who were then fighting to drive out Soviet troops. At the time, the US viewed the Mujahedeen and Pakistan's president, Gen. Zia-ul Haq as allies. The US renewed the alliance after the September 11, 2001 attacks, as Pakistan again emerged as a key staging ground and supply route in the war to overthrow the Taliban and eliminate al-Qaida.
US-Pakistan tensions came to a head in 2011 when American commandos killed Bin Laden in a secret raid in Abbottabad. Pakistan once again insisted it had no idea about his whereabouts, and expressed anger over the US carrying out the raid without giving it prior notice.
Shortly after the raid, Pakistan arrested a local doctor accused of running a fake vaccination program in order to gather DNA from Bin Laden, which he then allegedly passed on to the CIA. Pakistan has refused US demands to release the man. Relations remained chilly in the following years, as the U.S. repeatedly pushed Pakistan to do more to eliminate militant sanctuaries and trimmed military aid when it did not.
But Pakistan remains a major player in Afghanistan, and will need to be on board if Trump hopes to end America's longest war. Pakistan has used its close ties to the Taliban to bring them to the peace table in the past and could do so again, but it will want to preserve its own interests, which appear to be in conflict with the U.S.-backed Afghan government.
Senior administration officials said ahead of Trump's speech that he was considering further cuts in aid to Pakistan unless it reins in the Taliban and the Haqqanis, but that approach has failed in the past. Pakistan could respond by revoking US transit rights, shutting off the main supply route to US forces in Afghanistan.
Trump said he hoped to pursue closer ties with India, remarks that were sure to anger Pakistan. But whether that would lead Islamabad to re-evaluate its ties to militant groups or double down on its support for them? remains to be seen. A tougher US line might also push Pakistan into the arms of Russia, China and neighboring Iran.
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