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Last updated: January 2019

CSS with Mushtaq Mahindro

Pakistan-United States relations

Related question:
1. Pakistan’s FP primarily revolved around Kashmir and Afghanistan, nor USA, Soviet Union or
China. Please analyze the veracity of the statement.

The three most important objectives of the foreign policy of any country are:
1. To safeguard its territorial integrity.
2. To take care of the economic well-being of its people, in other words, it's economy.
3. To promote and further the socio-political interests of the country.

Pakistan in line with the above objectives was facing the following issues from the very outset:
1. The unresolved issue of Kashmir as an unfinished agenda of the partition of the subcontinent in
1947. We had our first encounter with India on Kashmir in the very first year of our independence.
2. Afghanistan opposed Pakistan’s admission to the United Nations. It also put forward its irredentist
claim over the Pashto speaking regions of our country and did not accept the international border
between the two countries which was drawn (in the name of Durand line) in 1893 as a result of an
agreement between the then British government in the subcontinent and Afghanistan government.

We were facing all these challenges in the face of our very deplorable economic and military
conditions at that time. These were the circumstances when our then policymakers decided to make
defense and economic alliances with the USA being the most influential nation of the time.
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Relations with the U.S.A. (1947-61):

1. We entered into security pacts with the United States, Mutual Defense Agreement and SEATO in
1954, and CENTO in 1955. These pacts were primarily against the communist Soviet Union and
China because at that time communism was a great obsession with the United States, and it wanted
to contain USSR and China. Though these pacts brought a lot of economic and military aid to
Pakistan but entangled Pakistan in the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
2. In March 1959 through another bilateral Agreement of Cooperation between Pakistan and the
United States, Pakistan received more military and economic assistance from the USA by providing
an air base to the United States at Badber, near Peshawar, for ten years.
3. India got the support of the Soviet Union on the Kashmir issue describing it as an integral part of
India. The Soviet Union even vetoed resolutions in UNO asking for a plebiscite in Kashmir. Both
India and the Soviet Union started supporting Afghanistan's irredentist claims on Pakistani
territory.

1962-71:
Pakistan a little bit reviewed its total tilt towards U.S.A in the early 60s on account of two
developments viz: First, Pakistan was upset by the Soviet threat of retaliation when Soviets
downed an American spy plane, U-2 on its territory, which had taken off from Badber air base
near Peshawar. Second, China’s encounter with India over Sikkim in 1962 brought Pakistan and
China near to each other and India and the USA near to each other on the point of ‘enemy of
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your enemy is a friend.’ The USA supported India being a counterweight to China, and the U.S.
started supplying weapons to India after the China-India border war of 1962.
Pakistan and the Soviet Union entered into some agreements for economic and technical cooperation
including building of first ever steel mill near Karachi. Soviets also offered credit and technical assistance
for oil exploration in Pakistan. With these gesture of goodwill from the Soviet Union, President Ayub Khan
happened to be the first president of Pakistan who paid a visit to the Soviet Union in April 1965.

The Soviet Prime Minister also offered to help to resolve the problems aftermath the 1965 War which
was accepted by both the belligerents. Accordingly, President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister of India met
in Tashkent in January 1966 and signed a peace agreement (Tashkent Declaration).

Ayub Khan visited Soviet Union third time in October 1967, and the Soviet Premier, Alexi Kosygin
also paid a visit to Pakistan in April 1968 and May 1969. Two Pakistani military delegations visited the
Soviet Union in June 1966 and July 1968. The Soviet Union supplied some weapons and transport to
Pakistan during 1968-70.

Relations with China get strengthened 1962 onward:

1. Demarcation of Pakistan- China border agreement in March 1963
2. PIA started its regular air service to China in 1964
3. Pakistan also started pleading China’s case for its permanent seat in the Security Council instead
of Taiwan.
4. The USA was not happy over Pakistan’s growing relations with the Soviet Union and China.
Pakistan also was not pleased over USA's arms embargo on both Pakistan and India during 1965
war. Such a ban was again imposed on Pakistan when India Pakistan went to war again in 1971.
5. This all compelled Pakistan to procure weapons and military equipment from non-American
sources like China, France, Great Britain, and West Germany. Pakistan also started focusing on the
indigenous production of weapons. Pakistan in this way moved away from the policy of alignment
with the West to an independent and pluralist one.
6. India played a very crucial role in dismembering East Pakistan in 1971 in the backdrop of the civil
strife in the then East Pakistan.
7. Pakistan played a significant role in bringing about a Sino-American rapprochement in July 1971
which set the stage for U.S. President Nixon's visit to Beijing in February 1972.

(1972-79)- Bilateralism and Nonalignment:

1. Pakistan withdrew from the SEATO in November 1972
2. Pakistan also withdrew from the CENTO in 1979. This policy paved the way for Pakistan to
become the member of the Non-aligned Movement in 1979.
3. Pakistan signed ‘Shimla peace agreement’ with India on July 2, 1972. In this agreement both the
countries among other things agreed to resolve their issues including Kashmir through bilateral
negotiations.
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4. India detonated a nuclear device in 1974. When Pakistan agreed with France to acquire a nuclear
reprocessing plant in 1976 USA strictly opposed the same. India raised the bogey of Islamic atomic
bomb.
5. When U.S.A discovered that Pakistan was secretly working on setting up uranium enrichment
plant, it suspended all economic assistance and military sales to Pakistan in 1979. This all brought
US-Pakistan relations to the lowest ebb.

1979-89: Pakistan - USA partnership on Afghanistan issue:

 Soviet forces entered into Afghanistan in 1979. Unites States wanted to fight a proxy war
there. The same could not be fought without Pakistan. Hence the US once again sought
Pakistan’s assistance. Pakistan agreed. The sanctions were lifted against Pakistan with a
modification in American law through the Pressler Amendment.
 The assistance packages amounted to the US $ 3.2 billion and $ 4.2 billion including 40 F-16
aircraft was released in favor of Pakistan.
 The US ignored Pakistan’s efforts in the nuclear field to keep Pakistan on board on Afghanistan
issue.
 In April 1988 Pakistan, Afghanistan, US, and the Soviet Union signed Geneva Accords according
to which Soviet troops were to leave Afghanistan by Feb 15, 1989. After the withdrawal of the
Soviets, the US shifted its interest from Afghanistan and left Pakistan alone to handle the intro-
Afghan conflicts.
 In 1990 US president refused to certify that Pakistan did not possess any nuclear device. With this
sanctions were again imposed on Pakistan in accordance with the Pressler Amendment of 1985 in
the Foreign Assistance Act.

1990-2001- Post-Cold War Era:

1. The US imposed additional sanctions on Pakistan when Pakistan detonated nuclear devices on May
28 and 30, 1998 in response to similar explosions made by India on May 11 and 13.
2. Pakistan’s support to Taliban government in Kabul (1996 to 2001) was also not liked by the US.

September 11, 2001 incident and aftermath:

September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. had far-reaching effects at the
international level. The United States and its western allies, Russia, and China decided to take
effective measures to counter terrorism on the highest priority basis. The UN General Assembly
condemned the terrorist attacks and called upon its members to join the global efforts for
combating terrorism and not to allow their territories to be used for such activities. The U.S.
identified the Al-Qaeda movement of Osama bin Laden based in Afghanistan as the main culprit
and declared to take punitive military actions against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan which allowed Al-Qaeda to operate from Afghanistan. Pakistan again came under the
focus of the US attention for the following two reasons:
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 Pakistan was supporting the Taliban regime.

 Pakistan shared a long border with Afghanistan, and its support was necessary for any U.S.
military operation in Afghanistan.
Seeing the international mood in the face of the devastation caused by the September 11
incident the government of Pakistan turned its back on the Taliban regime and joined the
international community in its counter-terrorism drive. Pakistan's decision was also influenced by
the UN General Assembly resolutions which called upon its members to support the global efforts
to combat terrorism. Pakistan thus opened its airspace to U.S. aircraft for military operations in
Afghanistan. The military and intelligence authorities of the two countries shared intelligence on
terrorist groups and their activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The U.S. responded by withdrawing sanctions against Pakistan. Pakistan also started receiving
economic assistance from the World Bank, IMF and Asian Development Bank for its various
social development sectors. In December 2001, the Aid to Pakistan Consortium recommended to
its members the rescheduling of Pakistan's debts amounting to the US $ 12.5 billion, for 38 years,
including a grace period of 15 years. The U.S. wrote off and rescheduled its debts. Pakistan also
received economic assistance, debt relief and trade concessions from Japan and the European
Union.

However, the U.S. subsequently started accusing Pakistan of not doing more to take strong
action against the Taliban on its side of the border. Taliban carried out many bomb blasts in
Pakistan for its pro-American policy resulting in a colossal loss to life and property. NATO supply
containers passing through Pakistan meant for Afghanistan were also attacked and destroyed by
the Taliban. The USA continued drone attacks in Waziristan areas of Pakistan against Taliban
hideouts. But the collateral damage of the innocent civilians during the drone attacks was also
high. This put enormous pressure on Pakistan by the religious parties to revise its policy towards
the USA and the Taliban. The USA also accused that many Islamic parties had links with the
Taliban and sympathies for Al-Qaeda.

The USA killed Osama Bin Laden in his hideout compound near Kakul during its
clandestine helicopter operation in 2011. That put Pakistan in a very awkward position. A
subsequent attack of NATO forces on Pakistani force’s Salala check post on Pakistan –
Afghanistan border and killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in 2012 made the relations between USA
Pakistan very bad. A tremendous domestic pressure was built on Pakistan to discontinue NATO
supply from Pakistan, which was done. But the same was restored after some time.

Since that time United States has been asking Pakistan to do more in helping the US and NATO
forces in their war against Taliban as they believe that some factions of Taliban carry out offensive
against them in Afghanistan from the Pakistani soil. Pakistan denies the same. Rather, Pakistan
carried out a resolute offensive against the terrorist both foreign and domestic including Taliban
in North Waziristan in 2014 at its own without ant any military or economic aid from any corner
which was applauded all over the world. Despite that relation between both the countries are
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strained, and trust deficit continues. However, seeing that military solution is not proving to be the
best option to deal with the Afghanistan imbroglio it was in January 2019 USA asked Pakistan to
use its good offices to bring the Taliban on negotiation table, and Pakistan played its due role in
this regard.

The other reason of these uneasy state of affairs between Pakistan and US is Pakistan’s tilt
towards China, particularly concerning CPEC. As the USA is not happy over Pakistan’s handing
over of Gwadar port to China along with an economic corridor connecting China’s Xinxiang
province through Khunjrab pass in the North for its trade with Gulf, Middle East, Africa, and even
beyond.

Conclusion:
After going through the historical review of Pakistan relations with the United States,
one thing comes to surface that in the international politics friends and foes are not permanent.
These are the ‘national interests’ which are supreme and permanent. In line with that, we see that
USA came near to Pakistan and extended economic and military assistance when it needed
Pakistan’s assistance to address its issues. It went away when Pakistan’s assistance was no more
required. Therefore blaming the USA for not coming to us in our difficult moments when it was
not in her interests is not a rationalized approach. It is a proven lesson of history that successful
foreign policy or winning over friends on permanent bases depends merely on how much we are
beneficial for others? What is our level of contribution to the world’s economy? How much other
countries depend on us for their needs (whether in the form of our investment in other countries or
their investment in our country)?

As a matter of fact these are the strength of economy, defense capability, capacity of
strengthening other’s defense capability, internal cohesion and solidarity, condition of internal safe
and secure environment, scientific, technological and research level, law and order situation, social
justice, performance of various institutions, respect for democracy and opposition which play
important role in winning over friends. When judged on these parameters it will not be difficult
for us to find out the reasons why we could not enjoy the requisite political respect in the comity
of nations in the time of need? This criterion will also help us to foresee our future world politico-
economic interactive scenario.

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