Today the United States Senate has made a humble request: more conditions on Pakistan for the continuation of aid, and the release of Dr Shakil Afridi, the man behind the OBL Assassination that shook Pak-US relations to an irreparable degree. The Senate voted 72-26, which cleared the House a little more than 24 hours earlier on a similarly lopsided vote. Obama’s signature on the bill was expected in time to prevent any interruption in government funding Saturday at midnight.
The colossal bill funds every agency of government, pairing increases for NASA and Army Corps of Engineers construction projects with cuts to the Internal Revenue Service and foreign aid. It pays for implementation of Obama’s health care law; the “Obamacare” that triggered Republicans to partially shut the government down for 16 days last October.
As in the previous year, the Congress has demanded a certification from the Secretary of State and the Defense Secretary to release both civil and military aid to Pakistan. The officials will be required to provide reassurance for their loyalty in the US-led counter-terrorism efforts…and to take tangible steps to end any possible support for terrorist groups and prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan. Cross border skirmishes along the Afghan-Pakistan border especially have caused sharp differences to arise between the two allies during the previous two years.
The Secretary of State will also be required to attest that Pakistan is not supporting terrorist activities against US or coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies are not intervening extra-judicially into political and judicial processes while the US prepares to pack up. It also seeks certification that Pakistan is dismantling improvised explosive device, networks and interdicting precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of IEDs; preventing the proliferation of nuclear-related material and expertise; and implementing policies to safeguard judicial sovereignty and due process of law.
The icing on the cake was withholding US $ 33 million aid until Pakistan releases Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the US in tracking Osama bin Laden. It also seeks from the Obama Administration a concrete spending plan including attainable and sustainable goals, benchmarks for measuring advancement and expected results regarding combating poverty and advancing development in Pakistan, countering extremism, and establishing conditions favorable to the rule of law and transparent and accountable governance.
The bill authorizes the Secretary of State to suspend aid if Pakistan fails to make measurable progress in meeting set benchmarks for security, development and economic improvement. The controversial acts of the bill are worth noting. From Pakistan’s perspective the very demand to release Dr. Shakil Afridi impinges upon Pakistan’s sovereignty. The matter, starting from the Salala attack, the OBL assissnation and even the more recent drone strike on Hakimullah Mehsud has put the government in an awkward position with its people.
As a recently elected democratic government acclimatizes to the whims of 200 million people, with the power to decide their fate, sovereignty is without doubt at the forefront of Pakistan’s domestic and international concerns. It defines our nation. Without the power to determine self realization within these borders, the state loses control and the rule of law becomes akin to a joke. Must the Pakistani government bow down to donor interests?
Aid obviously comes with strings attached, and while US aid has helped Pakistan in the past, with the complications in the recent past and Pakistan’s local security issues escalating, the United States needs to apply lessons from Syria and Iran to Pakistan. The US lawmakers need to recognize the implications of a weak Pakistan, or even worse, a hostile Pakistan. While the government may never sabotage ties, winning the people of Pakistan is paramount for the United States. Both the audacity of drone strikes, and sabotaging peace talks with Taliban make the region more hostile, serving nobody’s interests.
TACSTRAT ANALYSIS
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