Politics Beneath the Cloak of Invisibility

Pakistan Threatens to Play the Chinese Card

Did Pakistan give the Chinese access to the wreckage of the helicopter used in the U.S. attack on Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad? Its secret “stealth” technology allowed it to bypass enemy radar leading to the successful mission.

It’s difficult to say how much of that is factual because reports based on unnamed U.S. intelligence sources published in the American press can hardly be verified. The schemers in Washington and Islamabad are also flying beneath the public’s radar.

The best example for this dirty stealth policy is Obama’s increased use of unmanned drones in attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Officially, Pakistan lodges continuous protests over these attacks, though the United States has never really confirmed them in the first place. But Pakistan always acquiesces to the United States.

After the U.S. raid in Abbottabad, Islamabad reacted to this affront to its sovereignty by angrily threatening to invite China to view the downed helicopter. Now, however, both Peking and Islamabad have denied that it ever happened.

Threatening to play the China card came at an opportune moment for the Pakistani leadership as far as foreign policy is concerned, as it allows them to display their independence from Washington. Domestically, it allows them to hide their dependence on American funding from the population, as well.

In turn, the United States is wary of Pakistan’s military and intelligence service; for that reason, the U.S. didn’t announce its raid on Abbottabad in advance. The manner in which anonymous accusations are now being launched in various media outlets also fits this pattern.

That’s how pressure is applied and the public influenced. But mutual recriminations and manipulation are hardly the right way to improve bilateral relations.