Islamabad, July 9 (ANI): An editorial in a Pakistani daily has said the simple truth is that the United States does not trust the country and the U.S. won't listen to Pakistan unless it offers something concrete.
Just a day after Pakistan had agreed to reopen NATO supply routes, the U.S. unleashed a triple drone attack in North Waziristan that killed over 20 people. The fact that this came right after a report claiming that the Pakistan government, despite its indignant public stance, is not really pushing the U.S. to desist from drone strikes in the tribal areas, highlights the dangerous game it is playing, the editorial stated.
This double game is perhaps, borne out of the complex situation it finds itself in, where the divergence between word and deed is remarkable because of domestic compulsions, it said.
The U.S. realises the utility of drone strikes in eliminating militants and Pakistan knows that it has little leeway to make demands on the Americans. At the same time, it is aware of just how polarising the drone issue is at home. Adopting different public and private positions is the only way it can reconcile its positions both at home and abroad, it added.
But the government's private stance on drones does make a mockery of parliament's recommendations on resetting ties with the U.S. The National Assembly had demanded that the resumption of NATO supplies be linked to the cessation of drone attacks. That was an unrealistic position to adopt given how Pakistan is in no position to force the U.S. to take all its considerations into account, the editorial claimed.
The government, however, will now have to admit that the parliamentary debate was meant only to placate the public and not to set the trajectory for future ties with the US. In a way, the decision taken by the government to ignore parliament's recommendations is a wise one, but it will lead to even more mistrust and anger from the opposition benches, it further said.
The Pakistan government has insisted that they be allowed to provide human intelligence for ground targets in the drone war. This demand, too, is likely to be ignored by the U.S., it said.
The U.S. does not trust Pakistan and fears that any targets the country provides will serve only to settle scores that the Pakistan government and military has, and not those which the Americans want to kill, it added. (ANI)
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