In a recent editorial, the Urdu-language Pakistani newspaper Roznama Ummat discussed the state of Pakistan-U.S. relations, noting their recent decline. In an editorial titled "Yes, Our Interests are There in Afghanistan," the Karachi-based newspaper wrote: "The U.S. is also watching Pakistan's extending of [a] hand of friendship to Afghanistan with suspicion." It noted: "Recently, when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and ISI chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha visited Afghanistan [on April 16], the U.S. media started a propaganda [campaign] that Pakistan is sidelining the U.S. for its own interest."
While accusing the U.S. of trying to create a pretext to move U.S. troops inside Pakistani territory, the editorial also lauded the Pakistani military leadership for resisting U.S. pressure to carry out a military operation against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in North Waziristan. It also noted that Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during his April 20 meeting in Islamabad not only accused the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of supporting the militant group Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, but also refused to call back U.S. military trainers based in Pakistan.
An April 10 meeting in Washington, DC of the chiefs of ISI and the CIA failed to revive U.S.-Pakistan ties, and media reports indicate that the Pakistani government is in the process of expelling hundreds of CIA agents and U.S. officials from Pakistan. The editorial comes in the wake of the deteriorating Pakistan-U.S. relations, which reached their lowest ebb during the Raymond Davis controversy, and Pakistan's diplomatic offensive in Afghanistan. Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who was arrested in Pakistan on murder charges, was released following secret Saudi mediation.
Amid the deepening gulf between Pakistan and the U.S., Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, and ISI chief Lt.-Gen. Shuja Pasha led a delegation of top Pakistani leaders, including the country's interior, defense, and foreign ministers, to Kabul where it was agreed to set up a two-tier joint Afghanistan Pakistan commission on which the Pakistani army chief will have a place. Various Afghan and Pakistani media reports indicate that when in Kabul, Prime Minister Gilani made written demands to the Karzai government to allow recruitment of Pakistani officials in Afghan government institutions. The Pakistani political offensive in Afghanistan and rise the in the ISI-backed Taliban's attacks in Afghanistan are of concern to the U.S.
Following are excerpts from the Roznama Ummat editorial:[1]
"The Pakistani Military Leadership has Made It Clear in Unequivocal Terms to the U.S. to Stop Drone Attacks, Which is the Cause of Increased Problems for Pakistan"
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"The Pakistani military leadership has made it clear in unequivocal terms to the U.S. to stop drone attacks, which is the cause of increased problems for Pakistan. The promises that the U.S. made to safeguard Pakistan's security and sovereignty were not fulfilled. Pakistan will not accept any pressure from the U.S. regarding operations against terrorists in North Waziristan. It should be noted that the U.S. had promised to stop the drone attacks in lieu of Raymond Davis's release, but the drone attacks started again in the northern region after his departure from Pakistan. In retaliation, Pakistan has taken a strong stand and has stopped all activities of the U.S. secret agency CIA, after which the departure process of over 500 CIA personnel has started…
"U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen reached Pakistan on Wednesday [April 20] and held meetings with the top military leadership of Pakistan. During this period, it has been made clear to him that Pakistan will not accept more U.S. pressure. The U.S. military chief also accepted that there is lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan. However, he is of the opinion that the two countries cannot afford to completely break their relationship, despite some problems.
"Meanwhile, Pakistani defense officials have taken a decision in principle to stop all cooperation for the drone attacks. Besides asking to take back the control from the U.S. of the Shamsi airbase [in Baluchistan province], which has been in the use of the U.S. [drone attacks] for past six years, Pakistan has also made preparations for expelling about 150 suspected U.S. officials. These decisions of the Pakistani military leadership are in accordance with the national aspirations and people's expectations from the Pakistan military. The political leaderships [i.e. the elected governments] might bargain for different pragmatic interests and to sustain themselves in power, but the military leadership is expressing its reservations over the U.S. policy in the wider national interest, rising above all sorts of personal and sectarian feelings and prejudices. The U.S. cannot do anything to us if the political leadership also displays some courage and stands in line with the nation and the military personnel.
"After the failure of the [April 11] meeting between the heads of CIA and ISI in Washington, it has become evident that the relations between Pakistan and the U.S. have deteriorated to their lowest ebb when compared to the past. And the U.S. is responsible for this because it has been mounting its pressure on Pakistan in its war against terrorism even after taking most valuable services from Pakistan. The U.S. administration has made the Pakistani political leadership believe that if the U.S. withdraws its support to it, it [the Pakistani political leadership] would be deprived of power and Pakistan will face destruction. However if objectively seen, the ground realities are telling that presently the U.S. needs Pakistan more because the U.S. will need different types of help from Pakistan in the evacuation of the U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, starting in July this year till the end."
"The List of American Betrayal is Very Long; It has Kept Its Interest At the Top with Every Country It Promised Its Friendship"
"Despite his compulsions, U.S. military chief Mike Mullen did not stop from expressing his anger against the ISI instead of showing softness during his Pakistan visit. He alleged that it is helping the Haqqani Network, which is involved in attacking the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Mike Mullen said that if General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani is concerned about the safety of his country's citizens, then it is also 'my responsibility' to take steps to safeguard the lives of U.S. citizens. The U.S. military chief is forgetting that Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and his colleagues are performing their duty of providing security to citizens in their own country. On the contrary, the U.S. military head is trying to safeguard his troops who have come crossing seven oceans and are engaged in occupying a Muslim country, and that too at Pakistan's cost.
"The list of American betrayal is very long. It has kept its interest at the top with every country it promised its friendship. Former U.S. President George Bush had shown a very rosy picture, including promising abundant help for Pakistan's prosperity and the resolution of the Kashmir issue, to Pakistan's former military ruler President General Pervez Musharraf while seeking his help in attacking Afghanistan [after 9/11]. But since the aggression on Afghanistan, what has the U.S. given to Pakistan except loss of lives and property? None could make an estimate of these losses…
"The U.S. had promised to stop drone attacks on Pakistan for the release of the U.S. agent Raymond Davis, who is responsible for killing four innocent people. Raymond Davis has been released and has left Pakistan, but the drone attacks continue in the northern region with innocent people being killed. And to add salt to the wound, the head of the U.S. Joint Staffs Committee Mike Mullen, who has visited Pakistan 22 times, is threatening the Pakistani ISI on the one hand; and on the other hand, he is categorically rejecting the idea of stopping the drone attacks and the secret activities [of CIA in Pakistan]. He also does not seem to be ready to call back their military trainers [in Pakistan to train Pakistani securitymen in counter-terrorism]. On the contrary, he is demanding that the Pakistani forces should also carry out their military campaign in North Waziristan as per the U.S. wishes so that the deteriorating law-and-order situation should worsen further; and the CIA gets an excuse to attack Pakistan directly.
"The U.S. is also watching Pakistan's extending a hand of friendship to Afghanistan with suspicion. Recently, when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and ISI chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha visited Afghanistan [on April 16], the U.S. media started a propaganda campaign that Pakistan is sidelining the U.S. for its own interest. Pakistan should make it clear to the U.S. – yes, we have our interests in Afghanistan. It is our neighbor and a brotherly Muslim country. We would also be affected by its destruction and that is why the U.S. should roll its bedding from Afghanistan at the earliest."
[1] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), April 22, 2011.
