Pakistan's push to reset ties with US met with lukewarm response

Officials admit Biden administration has so far given a cold shouldered response

ISLAMABAD/ Express Tribune/05 April 2021

Pakistan's efforts to reset what is often dubbed as "transactional relationship" with the United States have been met with a lukewarm response by the Biden administration.

When Joe Biden took over as US President, Islamabad was hoping for transforming its ties with Washington from being security driven to one based on economic cooperation.

The optimism stemmed from the fact that President Biden knew Pakistan well and his knowledge of the country could help pave the way for better understanding.

However, officials here admitted that the Biden administration has so far given a cold shouldered response to Pakistan’s push for seeking a reset in ties.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has formed an Apex Committee to evolve a broad based agenda for engagement with the Biden administration.

The thrust of Pakistan’s approach is to have economic rather than relying on security cooperation. Enhanced trade ties, investment, energy and climate change have been identified as some of the areas where Pakistan is looking to seek US cooperation.

"We want to evolve relationship with the US purely through bilateral lens. We don't want to be perceived through the Chinese lens or Indian lens," said a senior Pakistani official involved in the policy making.

However, the trouble for Pakistan is that the new US administration has not given positive signals so far.

Despite in the White House for over two and half months, President Biden hasn't yet spoken to Prime Minister Imran Khan over the phone. It is a ritual that the new US President speaks to heads of governments and states. He has already spoken to the Afghan President and the Indian Prime Minister.

Despite Pakistan’s request, Biden has not yet established a direct contact with Prime Minister Imran Khan. This was seen as somewhat surprising given the fact that Pakistan has a pivotal role in the Afghan endgame. Officials are confident that given Pakistan’s importance to the Afghan peace process, Biden will surely speak to the Prime Minister sooner or later.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has not extended invitation to Pakistan for the climate summit the US is set to host later this month.

The virtual summit would bring together leaders from 40 countries including India and Bangladesh.

Prime minister Imran the other day played down the apparent US snub, insisting he was puzzled by the cacophony over not inviting Pakistan to the climate summit.

President Biden's special envoy on climate change John Kerry also skipped Islamabad when he undertook visit to regional countries including UAE, India and Bangladesh.

Similarly, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin recently travelled to India and Afghanistan but he ignored Pakistan, although he spoke to Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the phone while in Kabul.

Officially, Pakistan is tight lipped over these developments but privately officials acknowledged that the Biden administration was not giving encouraging signals.

What angered the new US administration is thought to be the acquittal of Daniel Pearl’s alleged mastermind by the Supreme Court just when Biden took charge. Pakistan was conveyed in clear terms that it had to ensure justice was served to the murderers of American journalist.

But the Daniel Pearl case is not just the only reason behind lukewarm attitude of the US. The other key reason is believed to be effort by the US administration asking Pakistan to move away from China.

Pakistan, although is trying to maintain balance in its ties with the US and China but Washington seems want a clear shift in the country's approach.

The US-China rivalry is going to get deepened under the Biden administration. The new US government not just is trying to counter China through different means but President Biden recently proposed infrastructure project to rival China's Belt and Road initiative.

"Yes, we have time tested relationship with China. CPEC is central to our development yet that doesn't mean we should be seen through the Chinese lens," said an official explaining Pakistan wants to pursue a policy that avoids being a proxy in the China-US tussle.

The official said the Prime Minister would articulate Pakistan’s position when he gets a chance to speak to the US President directly.

Interpreting the latest US snub
by Talat Masood

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2021

It is possible we may be reading too much in Prime Minister Imran Khan not being invited to the climate summit by United States President Joe Biden. Nonetheless, it provides us an opportunity to assess our present state of relations with the US and where we stand in the comity of nations and the region. What is rather intriguing is that heads of 40 countries have received invitations including India, Bangladesh and Bhutan, while we did not. Should this be considered a snub by the US President and if so, what could be the reasons for it? Or is there a more benign explanation for our exclusion? Are we to believe India and Bangladesh are relatively more affected by frequent flooding and climate hazards as compared to Pakistan? And Bhutan, though a small country, acquires prominence due to its unique location in the context of providing a deeper understanding of climate behaviour to specialists. Or perhaps inviting these three countries of South Asia broadly represents the common grave challenges of climate change that the region faces. The fact that Pakistan’s pollution emission is insignificant in comparison with the total global emission could be an additional reason. But this is equally applicable to several of the invitee countries.

The common belief is that excluding Pakistan from the summit is a deliberate political snub from the new US administration. If this be so, it is unfortunate, as mixing politics with matters related to climate change, which pose a universal challenge spread over future generations, should have been avoided. 

The irony is that the PTI government has been justifiably taking pride in treating climate threat seriously. It is pursuing a dedicated well-planned tree plantation programme as a part of PM Imran’s green policy. More than 10 million trees have already been planted and an ambitious programme of an additional one billion are planned for the future. Besides, Pakistan has been seriously involved in shaping a global climate discourse.

Expectations were that relations with the Biden administration would be relatively better than with its predecessor. Although it was clear and comes as no surprise that US interest in Pakistan would recede as it withdraws from Afghanistan. Recently speaking in a seminar in Islamabad, the former US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, who has deep insight of the region, repeatedly mentioned that Pakistan is no more relevant to Washington. He added that its importance is only in the context of Afghanistan. It required swallowing one’s national pride to absorb this message, US expedient policies aside. 

There are expectations that Washington would recognise the efforts Pakistan’s military has made in trying to move the Afghan peace process forward. It has worked assiduously to persuade the Taliban leadership to engage and work out a peace agreement based on sharing power with the Afghan government and other relevant parties. Surely, it can go only that far, because it is the two antagonists who have to find a solution to their differences.

In the past our nuclear programme was the focus of US attention, albeit for the wrong reasons, but with Pakistan having taken effective measures for safety and security it is no more an issue. In fact, its safety regime is considered better than its neighbour. 

Pakistan’s economy though has a great potential but at present is too weak and would take a few years before it would attract the US market. 

The chaotic internal politics and parallel centres of power do not reflect well on Pakistan’s overall image. Our democratic consolidation is taking far too long and there are no indications of improvement in the near future. For these overall economic and political weaknesses, we are paying a heavy price the burden of which is falling unfairly mostly on people of the lower income group. 

The attitude of the US toward Pakistan is largely being influenced by its rivalry with China. Pakistan is considered too close to Beijing and any interaction that helps Pakistan is considered as strengthening its strategic ally also. Our leadership, past and present, has rightly maintained that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its overall strategic ties with China is not a barrier for having productive relations with the US and the West. But how far the US accepts this premise is not certain. 

There are strong anti-Pakistan and pro-Indian lobbies in the US Congress and think tanks that influence the US in shaping and determining policy. Moreover, there is a strong anti-Muslim and pro-Israel lobby in the US power structure that lends further bias against Pakistan. 

But then the question arises: what is the motivation behind the latest Indian gestures of peace toward Pakistan? And how does it fit into the larger canvas of Indo-US axis? Or is it possible that the snub to Pakistan would embolden India to change tactics? In all likelihood, India’s peace initiatives are dictated by immediate compulsions as the country is facing an economic squeeze and the maltreatment of minorities is raising serious international concern. The forceful uprising in Kashmir is another major factor influencing its recent gestures of peace. Whatever be the reasons for India, it augurs well for Pakistan and the region if the two countries in their mutual interest move toward normalisation. Sustaining this effort, however, will only be possible if economics and stable relations with neighbours is considered a major component of national security by both India and Pakistan. 

The human rights situation in Kashmir is intolerable and should improve to sustain the peace process and broaden areas of cooperation. Clearly, the conflict has a huge symbolic meaning in the region as well. Although resolution of conflict would not by itself lead to movement in other areas, it certainly would be a major break from the legacy of the past. And above all would relieve the agony of the Kashmiri Muslims.

For far too long the adverse relations with India have been an overriding phenomenon influencing several facets of state power. And the role of the US is critical. But would it pursue India to engage seriously with Pakistan on Kashmir and other major issues?

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2021.

Aslo read the following column

https://www.dawn.com/news/1563390/strategic-shift