The US visit

Prime Minister Imran Khan has returned after a three-day visit to the US where he interacted with President Trump, met US Congressmen and women, speaker of the Congress, secretary of state, addressed a think-tank audience and also had an exclusive session with Fox TV.

His engagements in the US were accorded high-profile coverage by both international and domestic media and there seems almost consensus on one point: that it was a historic opportunity for both the countries to mend fences and give new direction to their ties.

President Trump showed extraordinary enthusiasm in welcoming his guest, and admitted that the latter was a popular and great leader who had done a lot to extend cooperation to the US in promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan and facilitating dialogue with the Taliban, unlike past regimes who in his words did not do that. He also hinted at the possibility of giving a boost to economic ties between the two countries and to enhance US investments in Pakistan.

The firm and realistic advocacy of the Pakistani narrative on bringing peace to Afghanistan by the prime minister received due acknowledgement and appreciation, prompting President Trump to say that the US and Pakistan were working together to find a solution to the Afghan conflict. The visit undoubtedly was a tremendous success as far as creating a better understanding of the Pakistani position on Afghanistan is concerned as well as in putting across its narrative on the regional security situation and relations with regional countries, particularly India. Relations between the two countries have attained an encouraging direction.

This success owes to the fact that Prime Minister Imran Khan was very candid and forthcoming in putting into proper perspective the war on terror, the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan and the wrong policies pursued by Pakistan in Afghanistan. This endeared him well to those with whom he interacted on different forums including President Trump who was an attentive listener to what the prime minister was trying to postulate. He invariably emphasized the need to recalibrate relations between the two countries.

The prime minister not only advocated the elements of trust and truth but also practically demonstrated it while speaking to members of the US Congress. Like always, he maintained that Pakistan fought the US war on terror which also endangered the country’s existence; he reiterated that Pakistan was in a defensive position and therefore the demand for ‘do more’ should not have been made to Pakistan.

He said these were the harsh ground realities which no previous government expressed to the US administration. He assured the US legislators that Pakistan would do everything possible to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, cautioning that making that happen was not an easy undertaking. He was right on the money that the entire country including army and security forces are on the same page for a common objective of peaceful solution of the Afghan conflict.

While addressing the audience at the US Institute of Peace, the prime minister was brave enough to admit that the policy of ‘strategic depth’ and interference in Afghanistan had failed and damaged Pakistan. On the nature of future relations with the US, he observed “We would like to have a relationship based on mutual trust, as equals, as friends and not as before when Pakistan wanted aid and it was asked to perform certain tasks for the US”. The bottom line of his narrative as enunciated with his discussion with President Trump and at other forums was that it was in the interest of both the US and Pakistan to find an end to the conflict in Afghanistan and this common objective needed to be pursued with an ambience of mutual trust.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s discourses struck a chord of cordiality with all his interlocutors and all those who interacted with him. Honestly speaking, I have never seen any Pakistani leader advocating the national narrative with so much clarity and conviction. Pointing out the wrong actions of the US in the past and admitting mistakes made by Pakistan in the past could not have been uttered by anyone who was not sure about the legitimacy of his cause.

The fact is that Pakistan has been making sincere efforts for promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan and facilitating the process of dialogue between the US and the Taliban. The country’s participation in multilateral forums to facilitate interface between Taliban and the Afghan government as well as dialogue between the Taliban and the US is a testimony to its sincerity of purpose in promoting peace in Afghanistan.

Of late, these efforts have been also recognized by President Trump, the US administration and the entire world community. Hopefully, the visit has cleared the residual misgivings regarding Pakistan’s indiscriminate action against all terrorist entities and the sustained campaign against proscribed organizations.

Pakistan has suffered the most in the war against terror and logically speaking it is in the country’s interest to promote and support the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan and facilitate the exit of US forces from that war ravaged country since their presence is having an adverse spill-over effect on all the regional countries, more so on Pakistan. Logically speaking, Pakistan would be the last country to act in a duplicitous manner in that regard. It was wrong on the part of the US administration to look askance at our efforts for peace and zero tolerance against terrorism and terrorist entities.

Pakistan initiated action against terrorist entities in South and North Waziristan through Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Raddul Fasaad to track and take out the sympathizers and remnants of terrorists hiding in different parts of the country as well as action against the proscribed entities. That is still going on. In fact, Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism sponsored by other countries as well.

It is, however, heartening to note that, as a result of the prime minister’s visit to the US, Pakistan’s efforts have been duly recognized and appreciated and the chill in their bilateral relations has been replaced by the enthusiasm to work together for finding a solution to the Afghan conflict as well as resetting bilateral relations underpinned by mutuality of interests.

There is a better understanding of Pakistan’s situation and limitations. Yet another outcome of the visit is a paradigm shift in the US stance on Kashmir.

The writer is a freelance contributor.

Email: ashpak10@gmail.com