Pakistan, US and F-16s: What is Wrong in the Mix?

By Shahzad Masood Roomi

In the latest twist in ever shaky Pak-US relations, the US has told Pakistan to arrange the full US$699 million to get 8 F-16s Block 52s instead of spending just US$276 million for the same after Senate Committee on Foreign Relations members and head barred the Obama administration from using the American taxpayers money to subsidies the deal. According to original deal, the US was to arrange US$430 million through Foreign Military Financing (FMF).

Pakistan and US Agree on Eearly Resumption of Afghan Peace Process

By Shahzad Masood Roomi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States have agreed to work together for an early resumption of the stalled Afghan reconciliation process.

Both countries reached to this understand during the COAS Gen Raheel Sharif's recent visit to the US where he held extensive discussions with key figures of the Obama administration, including Vice President Joe Biden.

“There is a sort of agreement that there is a need to move on the Afghan reconciliation thing very quickly depending on the conditions,” a senior diplomatic source, who had been briefed on the trip, told Dawn in a background briefing on Saturday.

Pakistan believes that there can be no peace as long as Afghanistan remains volatile that's why Afghanistan was the main focus of Gen Sharif’s visit, during which other issues related to Pakistan national security an regional stability like Pakistan’s strained ties with India, military cooperation, strategic (nuclear) issues and other regional matters were discussed.

According to the sources privy to meetings between COAS Gen Raheel and American interlocutors Pakistani military leadership quite candidly conveyed its political and strategic perspectives on various issues related to Afghanistan to concerned quarters in the US.  

Gen Sharif is believed to have communicated Pakistan’s fears in accepting the facilitation role that it is expected to play for reviving the process. The Pakistani side is primarily concerned about the Afghan security establishment thwarting a renewed process.

Military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, too, had in one of his tweets on the army chief’s visit said that “requirement of conducive environment for re-initiating Afghan peace process” was emphasised.

Pakistan is very clear about the issue and is certain that there are elements within Afghanistan government and NDS who don't want to let the reconciliation process start. These elements want to protect their political interests by denying any political role of Taliban which they may get as result of an agreement with Kabul.

In this regard, at least three major initiatives – the first attempt in February to kick-start the reconciliation process, the ISI-NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) cooperation agreement in May, and the reconciliation process itself –, Pakistanis believe, failed because of conspiracies hatched by these elements within Afghanistan establishment.

There was no time frame of this process was set though.“It would have been imprudent to set the timeframe without getting the Afghan government and China on board,” the source explained.

It is also expected that a “lot of ground would be covered during the Heart of Asia Conference”, which Pakistan is co-hosting with Afghanistan on Dec 7-8. It is being speculated that President Ashraf Ghani would visit Islamabad on this occasion.

Chinese Special Envoy on Afghanistan Ambassador Deng Xijun, who visited Pakistan last week, too had offered to facilitate the Afghan dialogue, provided other stakeholders agreed to the proposal.

A concerted diplomatic push for resumption of reconciliation process is clearly afoot.

An early resumption of peace process in Afghanistan is in interest of both Pakistan and the US. Pakistan cannot consolidate on the gains of Operation Zarb e Azb without brokering a peace deal between Afghan factions. On the other hand, President Obama wants to bring Afghan war to a logical conclusion so that it does not eclipses his legacy as President.

Indian factor is also important in Pak US overtures in Afghanistan. India sees any peace reconciliation process in Afghanistan as a negative development for its own interests in Afghanistan. After the renewed resolve to kick start Afghan reconciliation process, it is believed in Islamabad that Indians may quietly be told to let US, Pakistan work out Afghan peace policy. If it is true, then not it is obvious to hope that not only US would push Afghan government to produce a conducive environment for reconciliation but Pak-US bilateral relations would also come out of shadows of mistrust regarding former's role in global WoT.