Meaningless Talk of Friends and Enemies Doesn’t Suit Americans
Senator Lindsey Graham said recently that “our job as members of the Senate is to tell the Pakistani military: You need to choose. You need to choose who you want your friends to be and who you want your enemies to be… Too much is at stake to let this drift any further.” On the other side, Sen. John McCain has said that Inter-Services Intelligence has a relationship with the Taliban and the Haqqani network and the U.S should keep that in mind when considering its relationship with Pakistan.
The problem with American officials is that instead of establishing better relations with the people of foreign countries, they do so only with the rulers. When these rulers start to obey the U.S. and go against the nation’s desires, then the relationships between America and these countries reaches a level where the U.S. is forced to ask the question "Are you are our friend or our enemy’s friend?” Not only that, they also say, "If you do not listen to us, you will have to deal with the consequences."
In this respect, America has made many mistakes. However, as far as Pakistan is concerned, it has crossed all limits. Instead of taking into account the mood of 180 million Pakistanis it has pressured the aristocratic leaders to do its bidding. The aristocratic leaders have relented to pressure and started to take measures that are in conflict with the wishes of the people. This situation continued until finally the people acted out, leaving their aristocratic leaders between a rock and a hard place.
The public wants the U.S. to appreciate Pakistan’s limitations and establish a bilateral relationship with Pakistan in such a way that people can see tangible signs that the U.S. is a friend and that it comprehends what we are going through. However, U.S. officials still think that Pakistani officials should disregard the people’s sentiment and just do what they tell them. America, however, is not satisfied with just this. It is also trying to pressure Pakistan’s armed forces, and by making comments about friends and enemies, America is creating a difficult situation. What kind of oppression is this? Pakistan has had to incur irreparable loss as well. Pakistan’s economy has been destroyed, but the U.S. does not recognize this reality and is not prepared to compensate for the losses. The only thing Americans keep repeating is, “Do more.”
As far as the American statements against the Haqqani network are concerned, it is total injustice. If the Haqqani network is not involved with terrorism in Pakistan and is sincere towards Pakistan, then how can we declare them our enemies? In Pakistan most of the people hate America. So will the Americans demand next that we eliminate everyone who considers America their enemy, or that Pakistani armed forces instead declare them as their enemies?
The U.S. should know that Pakistan is a moderate nation. Pakistanis are not extremists or terrorists. Nonetheless, what kind of conditions have they imposed on this moderate nation? America has declared Pakistan as its frontline partner. Should the citizens of a partner nation be treated in such a way as the Americans have treated the Pakistani public? What did the public get? Worse Inflation, unlimited load shedding (electricity blackouts), higher unemployment, unending frustration. Is it fair for America to expose Pakistani people to such miseries? And if not, then why don’t they understand that their totally unjust behavior has compelled a majority of Pakistani people to be sympathetic towards the Taliban and abhor the Americans?
We believe that the Pakistani government and military should make the gist of these points clear to America and that, from now on, we will not unanimously accept all their demands. The government and military will act only according to the wishes of the Pakistani people. The time has come to make Americans understand that instead of compulsion and war they should negotiate with the Taliban and they should find all solutions through negotiation. If Americans say that the solution to the Kashmir problem is through peaceful negotiations, why can’t the same strategy be used for a solution to the Afghan problem? They should end the drama about good and bad Taliban because if their negotiations succeed the argument about good versus bad will end as well.
The problem with American officials is that instead of establishing better relations with the people of foreign countries, they do so only with the rulers. When these rulers start to obey the U.S. and go against the nation’s desires, then the relationships between America and these countries reaches a level where the U.S. is forced to ask the question "Are you are our friend or our enemy’s friend?” Not only that, they also say, "If you do not listen to us, you will have to deal with the consequences."
In this respect, America has made many mistakes. However, as far as Pakistan is concerned, it has crossed all limits. Instead of taking into account the mood of 180 million Pakistanis it has pressured the aristocratic leaders to do its bidding. The aristocratic leaders have relented to pressure and started to take measures that are in conflict with the wishes of the people. This situation continued until finally the people acted out, leaving their aristocratic leaders between a rock and a hard place.
The public wants the U.S. to appreciate Pakistan’s limitations and establish a bilateral relationship with Pakistan in such a way that people can see tangible signs that the U.S. is a friend and that it comprehends what we are going through. However, U.S. officials still think that Pakistani officials should disregard the people’s sentiment and just do what they tell them. America, however, is not satisfied with just this. It is also trying to pressure Pakistan’s armed forces, and by making comments about friends and enemies, America is creating a difficult situation. What kind of oppression is this? Pakistan has had to incur irreparable loss as well. Pakistan’s economy has been destroyed, but the U.S. does not recognize this reality and is not prepared to compensate for the losses. The only thing Americans keep repeating is, “Do more.”
As far as the American statements against the Haqqani network are concerned, it is total injustice. If the Haqqani network is not involved with terrorism in Pakistan and is sincere towards Pakistan, then how can we declare them our enemies? In Pakistan most of the people hate America. So will the Americans demand next that we eliminate everyone who considers America their enemy, or that Pakistani armed forces instead declare them as their enemies?
The U.S. should know that Pakistan is a moderate nation. Pakistanis are not extremists or terrorists. Nonetheless, what kind of conditions have they imposed on this moderate nation? America has declared Pakistan as its frontline partner. Should the citizens of a partner nation be treated in such a way as the Americans have treated the Pakistani public? What did the public get? Worse Inflation, unlimited load shedding (electricity blackouts), higher unemployment, unending frustration. Is it fair for America to expose Pakistani people to such miseries? And if not, then why don’t they understand that their totally unjust behavior has compelled a majority of Pakistani people to be sympathetic towards the Taliban and abhor the Americans?
We believe that the Pakistani government and military should make the gist of these points clear to America and that, from now on, we will not unanimously accept all their demands. The government and military will act only according to the wishes of the Pakistani people. The time has come to make Americans understand that instead of compulsion and war they should negotiate with the Taliban and they should find all solutions through negotiation. If Americans say that the solution to the Kashmir problem is through peaceful negotiations, why can’t the same strategy be used for a solution to the Afghan problem? They should end the drama about good and bad Taliban because if their negotiations succeed the argument about good versus bad will end as well.
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