A History of US- Pakistan Relations

Introduction
Pakistan was founded on 14 August, 1947 along with India when the two nations achieved independence from the British Colonial Empire. The partition of the sub continent had occurred along ethnic-religious lines with Pakistan created in those adjoining territories that had majority Muslim populations. Thus the country of Pakistan with seventy million people had above 90% Muslim population. On the other hand, India had a majority Hindu population but Muslims were also a sizeable second minority group comprising 15% of the Indian population. The regions comprising Pakistan included the provinces of Sind, Punjab, Balochistan and Northwest Frontier Province on the western side of India and the province of East Bengal in the east of India. The two wings of eastern and western Pakistan were separated by a thousand miles of Indian territories. India inherited most of the infrastructure from the colonial establishment and Pakistan received some share out of assets. However, the regions comprising the land of Pakistan were less developed as compared to India and the administrative infrastructure was also limited. Both countries gained some military assets left over after the end of the World War Two. The main challenges that Pakistan faced at the time of its independence were related to its security fears, lack of infrastructure in the country and limited financial resources. The creation of two separate states and the division of the countries over ethno-religious lines had create a large migration across the two countries accompanied by ethnic cleansing, rioting and looting. The partition of the sub continent had been a contentious debacle and India and Pakistan had disputed division of assets as well as territories of the two countries. The state of Kashmir was a major cause of dispute as both India and Pakistan made claims for the state. The dispute led to a limited war in 1948 that resulted in one third of the Kashmir state occupied by Pakistan and the other two thirds overtaken by India.

The initial years 1947-1952
After the creation of the two countries, Pakistan followed a more pro western policy whereas the Indian government defined its foreign policy with a more leftist to non aligned stance. Pakistan was looking for strong friends in order to persuade its bigger and much stronger neighbor India to give in to its claims over the territory of Kashmir. Pakistan also needed financial support for its infrastructure development and modernization of its armed forces. Right from the beginning the founder father of Pakistan sent its representative to the US government for financial and military assistance. Pakistan based its case on the post World War scenario of confrontation between the Soviet Union and the West. Pakistan contented that the Soviet Union wanted to get access to the Arabian Sea and to increase its influence in the Middle East. Pakistan was a nation beyond Afghanistan that could avert such Soviet designs. Pakistan as a Muslim state had no affiliations with the communists and was a natural regional ally for the United States. On the other hand, the ruling party in India, the Indian National Congress, and India’s leaders were closer in ideology to socialism and the Soviet Union. As a US ally in the region, Pakistan could provide a foot hold for the US in the region against any Soviet expansionist efforts in South Asia.

From the US perspective, the United States was more occupied in the post war reconstruction in Western Europe and Japan, its containment efforts in South East Asia and the Middle East. The United States in the initial years of Pakistan was less interested in getting involved in the emerging conflicts of South Asia. The Pakistanis wanted to strengthen their relations with the US so as to get an advantage in their confrontation with India over Kashmir. On the other hand, the US did not see the usefulness of a strong relationship with Pakistan and US interests in Pakistan were limited. The Kashmir dispute dragged on despite UN Security Council resolutions that were agreed upon by both Pakistan and India in 1949 for a ceasefire and proposal for a plebiscite. The Kashmir issue remained unresolved and became the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan resulting in three subsequent wars.


The evolving relations & Ayub Era 1952-1969
Prospects for Pakistan’s relations with US improved after Republican Eisenhower came to power in 1952 in the White House. Pakistan pushed its case as an ally that could provide support for Middle East security and in return it asked for military and economic support for its flail economy. Unstable domestic politics had led to political and economic distress while the bureaucratic and military officers were getting stronger in the country. The Republican government was more receptive of the Pakistani position and its claims of anti communist stand and an available allied state. Pakistan joined with Turkey as member of the Middle East Defense Organization (MEDO) in 1954. This allowed Pakistan to formally seek aid as a regional ally of the US. In January 1955, Pakistan joined South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) with a view to adding security to the East Asian flank of anti communist alignment. However, it was not clear how Pakistan’s role in both these organizations would actually materialize in the case of an actual conflict. However, for the Pakistanis, becoming part of these alliances allowed the country to create stronger links with the US administration and seek increasing aid.

In September 1955, Pakistan became a member of the Baghdad Pact organization which later became known as CENTO. Turkey, Iran and Iraq were its earlier members with the US as the backer of the security arrangement. The role of this organization was similar to the earlier MEDO as a northern-tier defense arrangement against communist influence in the Middle East. "In the end, neither the Baghdad Pact not SEATO amounted to much militarily. …Joining the Baghdad Pact and SEATO gave Pakistan a strengthened claim on US resources and, in turn, the US acquired an even larger stake in Pakistan’s well being. As Pakistan’s president Ayub Khan put it in his biography, “Friends Not Masters”, Pakistan had become America’s “most allied ally in Asia”" (Reference 1).

A key development from Pakistan’s perspective was the amount of development and military aid that started in 1954 and increased to $500 million by 1957 as a result of Pakistan’s joining the regional defense organizations and allying with the USA. During the second Eisenhower term, the relations between the two countries became even stronger. Pakistan’s Army Chief staged a military coup in 1958 and later became the President of Pakistan. Field Marshal Ayub Khan had developed strong relations with the Americans and his era from 1958 to 1969 turned out to a strong era of US- Pakistan relations. In 1959, Aub’s government allowed the US to set up an intelligence facility in Badaber, NWFFP province and operate U2 surveillance flights over the Soviet Union from its Peshawar Airport. This arrangement and the closer relationship of the Pakistani government with the US administration allowed it to acquire increasing military hardware and arms for its defense services. The issue troubling the US was Pakistan’s closer relations with China. The Indians and Chinese had fought a war in 1962 in which China had given India a bloody nose. As a result Pakistan moved to improve and strengthen its relations with China in order to position itself as a stronger foe for India. However, Pakistan’s growing friendship with communist China irked the US who was facing a proxy war against the communists in Vietnam. Pakistan and India fought a war in 1965 that was an ill fated affair started by a limited guerilla war in Kashmir that Ayub started in order to pressurize India to come to the negotiating table over Kashmir. However, as the war spread, Pakistan could not sustain a long term conflict and asked for a truce and both forces moved back to their previous borders.


Creation of Bangladesh 1969 – 1972
Army Chief General Yahya took over power from President Ayub Khan in March 1969. The country had been in a pseudo military rule since 1958. Political representation had been insufficient and regional succession movements were strengthening in the country especially in the eastern Pakistan province of Bengal. Elections were held in the country in 1970 with the East Pakistani party Awami League taking a majority in the elections. The military government did not hand over power to the winning party and in a political deadlock, unleashed a crackdown against the East Pakistan population. This led to a limited civil war in 1971 and India siding with the dissidents launched a war in December 1971. After a fortnight of fighting, the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan accepted default and the state of Bangladesh was established. The US Policy in this debacle was aligned with the military establishment of Pakistan due to its earlier links and defense relationships . On the other hand, President Nixon used the Pakistani links with China to start a secret diplomacy with China which culminated with Henry Kessinger’s secret visit to China in July 1971 while he was visiting Pakistan . The Chinese relationship was vital for the US as it was trying to fix the mess in its Vietnam policy. With these concerns, the US administration neglected the internal domestic issues of Pakistan and allowed the dictator to have its way in East Pakistan. "The opening to China was an essential element in Nixon’s strategy of creating a new global balance of power. His aim was to bring China into the family of nations – reversing two decades of US efforts to isolate Beijing – and to use an improved US-Chinese relationship as a lever with Moscow to press for US-Soviet détente." (Refrence 1)

Rather than focusing on their domestic problems and working effectively to find solutions, the military rulers in Pakistan had been focusing in international affairs and the Great Game and considered the close relationship with the US as a guarantee for their own domestic survival. However, this proved to be a false notion and Pakistani military lost big time in the war with India in 1971. Over 90,000 soldiers were taken as prisoners of war by India and East Pakistan declared its independence. With this large defeat, the military finally gave in and handed over power in the remaining country of West Pakistan to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who took over as the first elected Prime Minister of the country.

Bhutto Years 1972 – 1977
Prime Minister Bhutto initially focused his attention with normalizing the domestic situation in the country. The Government of Pakistan signed a truce with India, recognized the government of Bangladesh and eventually the 90,000 prisoners were returned by India. The major challenge for the new government came in May, 1974 when India executed an underground nuclear test. This forced the Pakistanis to also seek a nuclear weapons program to match India’s capabilities. This became a major cause for concern for the US administration. Pakistan started efforts to acquire a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant from France and a heavy water facility from West Germany. During Bhutto’s government Pakistan’s foreign policy was aligned to see ka balance between its relations with China, Russia and the USA. Pakistan placed a special emphasis on its relations with the Arab countries in the Middle East.

During Ford and later Jimmy Carter’s administration, sanctions were placed on Pakistan related to export control and restriction of aid grants. Prime Minister Bhutto called elections in March 1977 from which he gained a landslide victory. However, the opposition blamed it on massive rigging and started a public campaign to oust Bhutto. Prime Minister Bhutto claimed in public rhetoric that the American were behind the opposition movement and wanted to punish his government for its nuclear weapons program and alignment with the Arabs. In July 1977, the Army seized power in a coup for the third time in the country. General Zia initially promised elections but later firmed his grip on the government and started a murder trial against Bhutto which eventually led to Bhutto’s hanging for the alleged crime in 1979.

Zia Years 1977 – 1988
After hanging the former Prime Minister, Zia strengthened his hold on the government and used a cover of Islamic reforms to give credibility to his government. Jimmy Carter’s administration developed closer relations with India while Pakistan was more or less isolated due to its new military dictators. On the nuclear front, General Zia continued the previous policy of Bhutto in acquiring and developing capabilities for nuclear weapons. The chilling relations between the US and Pakistan took another a U-turn when the Soviet Army entered neighboring Afghanistan in December 1979 to support the local communist government. "Just four days after the Soviet invasion, On December 29, 1979, Jimmy Carter approved a broader covert action program that instructed the CIA to provide military weapons and ammunition …for the Afghan anticommunist fighters, who soon became widely knows as “mujahideen”…At Pakistan’s insistence, the CIA funneled all aid through the Pakistani intelligence service ISI, which in turn handed over supplies to Afghans." (Reference 1). With the Reagan Administration in the White House, the support for the covert war in Afghanistan increased along with the value of the Pakistani cooperation. Pakistan was rewarded with a $3.2 billion aid package for the next six years. As the Afghan war progressed more than three million refugees entered Pakistan.

During this period, Pakistan was considered a valuable ally and the US ignored the increasing developments on the nuclear front as well as the human rights abuses by the Zia regime. The success of the Afghan war effort was crucial for the American Administration as it was bled the Soviet Government and placed huge pressure in terms of resources. Fed up with the costs of the war and covert operations by the mujahideen, supported by the CIA and the Pakistani ISI, by 1988, the Russians had had enough and were ready for a respectable evacuation from Afghanistan. The usefulness of Pakistan for the USA with respect to Afghanistan, thus, ended when Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to a retreat in April 1988. General Zia died in a mysterious plane crash months later in August 1988 and political elections were held in Pakistan.


Unstable democratic governments 1988 – 1998
After the 1988 elections, Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of former Prime Minister Bhutto, came into power. Until 1990, the $600 million military and economic aid that had started after the Afghan War effort by the US had continued. However, every year, the US president had to certify under the Pressler Amendment, enacted in 1984, that Pakistan did not posses a nuclear device. "After October 1, 1990, passed without certification, the $564 million economic and military aid program approved for fiscal year 1991 was frozen. At the time, Pakistan was the third-highest recipient of US aid; only Israel and Egypt received more assistance" (Refrence 1) . At this point the main occupation of the Pakistan government was to try to create a friendly mujahideen regime in Afghanistan, continue to develop its nuclear and missile program and support the militant insurgency in Kashmir. Since the US and Pakistani interests had diverted at this point, with the Soviets retreating from Afghanistan and the US involved in the Middle East, the Pakistanis felt isolated by their “old friend” and “ally”.

Domestic politics, once again, became unstable and four successive governments in Pakistan were dissolved one after another in a matter of 11 years with the Army, as always, the main power broker among the political stalwarts. Benazir held the Prime Minister’s office twice from 1988-1990 and from 1993-1996. Her main opponent, Nawaz Sharif, held office from 1990-1993 and 1996-1999. Gross fiscal mismanagement, political instability and US sanctions created large fiscal deficits and the governments borrowed heavily from international lenders. The Clinton Administration had a tilt towards the more democratic Indian government during this time. The Pakistanis contented that the Pressler Amendment was specific to Pakistan and the sanctions were unjustified. Additional sanctions were placed after Pakistan acquired M11 missiles and delivery systems technology from China which violated the MTCR regime. By 1996 Pakistan’s Afghan efforts were bringing some success and the ISI backed Taliban government was established in Afghanistan. The US administration initially welcome the prospects of peace in the country but later opposed the Taliban regime based on their extreme fundamentalist views and gross violations of human rights.

A new turn of events unfolded in May 1998 when the new Indian government tested several nuclear devices. The Clinton Administration put a lot of pressure on the Pakistani government to refrain from tit for tat nuclear tests. However, Pakistan government came under intense internal pressure and detonated their nuclear devices two weeks later. Although a new nuclear deterrent had been established between India and Pakistan, another wave of international sanctions followed from the international community. This put further pressure on the already weak political economy of Pakistan.

The US had a new interest in Afghanistan by mid 1998 after the terrorist attacks on US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed two hundred people and were carried on by an organization belonging to Osama Bin Ladin, a former Saudi national living in Afghanistan. The US administration wanted Pakistan to use its influence on the Taliban to make them handover the culprit over to the US. However, the Taliban refused and new animosity started in the region. In early 1999, Pakistan had a spate of diplomatic discussion to improve their relations with India but by mid 1999, a limited war had erupted in Kargil between the two countries which had been covertly engineered by the Pakistani Army. As India increased pressure and an escalating war scenario emerged, the US intervened on the request of Pakistan and the armies retreated to their pre war positions. The main casualty in the war turned out to the Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif who tried to oust the military commander but a military executed a coup and the military came into power for the fourth time led by General Musharraf.


Musharraf – 911 and beyond – partners in the fight against terrorism
General Musharraf took power at a time when the economic situation of the country was in deep trouble. The rupee was sliding, foreign reserves had been depleted and rampant corruption had messed up the infrastructure of the country. By year 2000, Pakistan after more than 53 years of independence was still struggling to find a stable political system and an economic infrastructure that would generate sustainable development and improve the quality of life for its people. From the United States perspective, Pakistan was moving closer to a “failed state” case and it’s nuclear and missile programs were a constant concern for policy makers in Washington. A failing economy could easily lead to another coup backed by the Islamists and the country could fall in fundamentalist hands along with its arsenal of nuclear weapons. With this scenario in view, the US administration more or less supported the Musharraf regime in its efforts to build a more stable economy in Pakistan.

911 changed the nature of US – Pakistan relations once again. Terrorists supported by Osam Bin Ladin’s organization had executed successful attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001. The US President George Bush asked the world to make a clear choice to side with the US with the slogan “you are with us or against us”. President Musharraf’s regime, which was previously a supporter and backer of the Taliban regime since its inception, made a U-turn and sided with the US in its war against terrorism. Siding with the US, Musharraf betted that the decision would result in improving foreign aid and support from World Bank and IMF on the one hand and US support for Pakistan’s cause for Kashmir on the other.

In the last two years, Pakistan has helped the US capture several hundred operatives of the Al-Qiada organization and has allowed the US to execute military operations from its land, air and sea bases. In return for its cooperation, there has been some economic revival of the Pakistani economy. On the Kashmir front, however, not much progress has been made since India has projected Pakistan as a supported of terrorism in Kashmir itself, a label vehemently denied by the Pakistanis.

Conclusion
In the historical context of US-Pakistan relations, it is obvious that the mutual relations between the two countries are based on convergence of common interests from time to time. When the US required U2 surveillance flight facilities and an intelligence base against the Soviets (1959-1968), backdoor diplomacy with the Chinese (1970-72), covert operations against the Red Army in Afghanistan (1980-88) and recently the war against terrorism (2001 - ??), it has extended its best hand forward in terms of military and economic aid as well as support for unelected military dictators. On the other hand, Pakistan during this time has had modest success in growing its economy with economic aid from the US and from the World Bank and IMF. Pakistan has performed better in achieving its goal of a nuclear balance with India with its extensive missile and nuclear programs. However, time will tell how long the present cooperation between the USA and Pakistan lasts and how much can the Pakistanis get in reward for their cooperation with US war against Osama Bin Ladin and his Al-Qaida organization.


References:
Reference 1: (Major source of information)
“The United States and Pakistan, 1947-2000: Disenchanted Allies” By Ambassador Dennis Kux available from:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0801865 727/104-9748465-1965524?v=glance

Deputy Secretary Talbott, "U.S. Diplomacy in South Asia: A Progress Report," Address at The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, November 12, 1998
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/strobie.htm

A Fortress Built on Quicksand: U.S. Policy Toward Pakistan by Ted Galen Carpenter (Ted Galen Carpenter is a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute)
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa080es.html

Emb assy Of Pakistan, Washington DC. Foreign Policy Objectives:
http://embassyofpakistan.org/pb1.php

Remarks by Ambassador Nancy J. Powell "Karachi Council on Foreign Relations" Karachi, Pakistan November 13, 2003
http://usembassy.state.gov/islamabad/wwwhamb03111301.h tml