A History of US- Pakistan Relations

dear jamshednazar sahib -- ferozk is right -- if the past is any indication Pakistan`s real value vis s vis the United States is summed up by this Atish couplet:

nu pooch haal mera chaube khusk-e sehraa hooN
lagaa ke aag mujhe carvaaN rawana huaa...

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This whole subject is one that actually requires a psychologist to understand. It might make for a good case study in national delusion and self-absorption.

It is like a homeless person in Seattle who insists on writing papers like ``My relationship with Bill Gates``. But the homeless person has some contacts in the mafia, so Bill Gates and his people say (with a smile!): yes, yes, you are very importan to us. Here is another $10 for you...

Truly a bizarre phenomenon. A nation of no importance whose ruling class is desperate to connect it with the major powers. The nation has no positive goals; it has no plans for its destiny or its citizens. But thank god, it at least gets some handouts from powerful countries.

So its generals and bureaucrats can write nonsensical articles on ``Our relationship with the USA``. Meanwhile rational people snicker on the sidelines and wonder what else they can extract from these delusional people for another $10...

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re: Jamshed Nazar

Sir, the relationship between Pakistan and the United States is a lot more simple than your article suggests. It is the convergence of the geopolitical interests of the United States and the requirement of a political expediency for Pakistan. There is no relationship between United States and Pakistan; such a claim is a myth.

Ciao

``The real threat to US is not the stupid Osama or its invisible `be-qaeda` outfit but the Ideology of Islam.

Can you beat an Idea whose time has come?

Time will tell. ``(anew)

dear anew -- in between your peachy preachings -- you occasionally make real sense -- you`re right when you say ``the real threat is not the stupid Osama.....and his ``be-qaeda out fit`` -- it is the ``Ideology of Islam``

and your are right -- Can you beat an Idea whose time has come -- and passed....

can you?

its certainly the Time to Tell....

A good summarization of the historical relationship with the US.

Dear all!
Thanks for all the comments.
Pakistani leadership has falied many times in the past. Rather than trying to guess out what America wants from us, and then trying to win its favors, we need to figure out what we want in Pakistan and pursue our national objectives.

Let me respond to each below.

#1: Indian
Interesting article from NYT. However, I would emphasize that ``Talibanization of Pakistan`` is not a cause, but an effect of the US-Saudi money that flushed into Pakistan and which needed idealogical foundations for the CIA operations in Afghanistan. Amercians are justified in pursuing their national interests. However, it is upto the Pakistani leadership and especially Generals running the country to decide what is good for Pakistan. Peace and security, social uplift, education, jobs, and social justice is what we need.

#3 arjun_m:
Ayaz Amir is perhaps the most influential writer in Pakistan today. However, I think his commetaries are read with more interest in Washington than in Islamabad though!

#4 by sigalph235:
A good read indeed.

#5 / #6 anjaan:
Nations interact on the basis of their national interests.
The question is, what did we do with all the aid that we received for our co-operation for different US asssignments over the years. Would we had been better off, had we favored a more non-aligned approach? After half a centuary of independace, our GDP per capita stands below $500. A US dollar that was worth 4.5 Rupees in 1971, was 21 Rupees in 1991, and close to 67 Rupees in 1999.
Our prime national interest is to develop our human and natural resources and bring peace and prosperity to all people who live in Pakistan.
Talibanism is not a phenomenon. The biggest problem is that some of the officers in the ISI, who created the Afghan Jihadi clout, have forgetten that this clout was not a reality, but a drama played out to attract fresh blood for afghan conflict by the CIA. However, it looks as if some sanity is prevailing and the newer generation of Pakistani Generals are less inclined to adventures in the region. The key, as always, is the money flow from CIA / Saudis etc.
Pakistan should move on from ``contract labor`` to ``indigineous manufacturing`` - hence Musharraf`s slogan of ``Pakistan first`` is commendable.

#8 by jay:
We Pakistanis are always looking for a ``Raison D`etre``. Pakistan is not an anti thesis of India and it never was. Pakistan has been occupied by Kashmir, which has allowed the Army to cry wolf, and to seek foreign partners which later turned into masters. India is a credible threat and the Army has every right to prepare for a defensive strategy. However, the precarious sitiation of Pakistan`s society and economy never allowed us a privilage to wage offensive wars against the Russians or the Indians or other regional foes.

#10 by ahmadzai:
Thanks for the comments. ``Pakistan First`` is a rational slogan and Pakistan should always be first. What else could it be?? Regarding some comments from our angry Indian friends, I can just say that on both sides of the border, the anti- Pakistan propaganda on their side or the anti- India propaganda on our side, is just a smoke screen to continue vested interests, of the military in Pakistan, and of the BJP / RSS on the Indian side. However, it is interesting to see that now the Indians are realizing that their increasing economic sustanaibility requires them to normalize relations with a nuclear Pakistan.

#11 by ironman:
Dear Ironman, as I mentioned to jay above, Pakistan does not need anyone`s justification.

#12 by anew:
Islam is a threat in the sense that it can provide the kind of ideology that can sustain and fuel anti-Americanism. People in South America are as unhappy with American policies as the people in the middle east. However, a common idealogy in the middle east allows them to justify their struggles. The cause of the conflict is exploitation. Islamic extremism is one of the languages of response.

#13 by mohar11:
We will probably have to wait for next five or ten years to know exactly what services we provided to the US in its war against Al-Qaida etc.

``The partition of the sub continent had occurred along ethnic-religious lines...``

On creation pakistan was composed of half the punjabais, half the sindhis,half the pakhtoons,half the balochis, half the kashmiris and half the bengalis.

...so its wrong to say ``along ethnic lines``

- - - - -

The bulk of muslims in india preferred to stay put.

..its not ``along religious lines`` either.



So, what is pakistan? Land of honey and milk (Half-and-Half) ?!

Pakistan ka matlab kya?

Pakistan and US are strange bedfellows. Their `interests` are not so common unless Pakistan recognizes Israel and declare itself a Secular state. Islam is a `constant` threat to `mighty` US and its protégés Israel since Pakistan is the only `Islamic` country with nukes and Nike wearing `militants`.

The real threat to US is not the stupid Osama or its invisible `be-qaeda` outfit but the Ideology of Islam.

Can you beat an Idea whose time has come?

Time will tell.

#10 by ahmadzai
//...Pakistan must be doing some thing very good for US..//

Yep - Pakistan is doing everything that is good for the US. And the master is happy. Keep it up and some day you will be rewarded.

Jamshed:

This is an excellent article. My two bits:

1. When I read extremist Indiots on this board, supporters of those in powers who have killed at will innocent Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in India, spitting venom against Pakistan, we, Pakistanis should be satisfied - Pakistan must be doing some thing very good for us, for what could be the other reason for messages of hate from these Hindutva warriors.

:-)

2. Its not a matter of love and hate or of rewards and penalties, but of supreme national interests. Like President Musharraf always says while responding to the accusations of opposition that he is a sell out to Western interests, ``we have to act in our national interest and we have to look for win-win situations``. The confidence and specificities with which PM, FM (Kasuri) and IM (Faisal) speak on their domains show our conviction and that we are on the right track.

Social values and predilictions.

The article traces the pak US relationship, with no attempt to find the foundation and rationale for the sequence of events. Pakistan was created for islam, with the political and operational doctrine of TNT. Being islamic, means it has to follow the book, in fact created to follow the book, and hence all of the local cultures were declared kaferian and suppressed. The book giving no clue about long term economic planning, pak leaders had to resort to what is immediate and excigent. To put it simply how to get some money with out doing any work. This is the fundamnetal reason that led to the domination by the US, then thechinese, then the soudis, again the US. There is nothing at the core of pak society.

This trend one can see even today. Even the educated claim pakistan to be against alquida and terrorism, it is they who created it, The same ISI got money to create the jihadis, now they are paid to kill them. Pak society welcomed millions of foreign fighter into their midst, now they are caught and trasported to quantanam bay. How can a society change so rapidly, so quickly, it is shalow with out any values.

Future of jihad,

Jihad is central to pak identity, the afghans and the US are only incidental, at best accelerated the process. There is no way that the so called war on terror will make any significant impact.

A more likely scenario is india, china and the soviets coming together, and pakistan on the uS side. The jihad will be restarted, this time to all of the above three countries.

This will be completely in tune with the aspirations of the pak society.

May be in another 15 years, it will be jihadists all over pakistan, this time may be twent fold to cover all of the above 3 countries.

In M.J.Akbar`s biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, Suhrawardy comes off as less than a statesman, at least during the Suez crisis when he was the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

As a member of CENTO and SEATO, the Pakistan government under Suhrawardy had come out very strongly against Nasser`s Egypt during the Suez crisis. Nehru`s government was of course a study in contrast and India`s stock rose high among the peoples of the Muslim world, in general, and of the Arab world, in particular. The Arabs christened Nehru, Rasul-al-Salaam (messenger of peace).

There was much embarrassment in Pakistan for Nehru`s role destroyed its strategy of isolating India from the Muslim world. Moreover, while the Suhrawardy government squirmed, Pakistani poets showered encomiums on Nehru. A verse written by Rais Amrohvi was published in the Karachi Urdu paper, Jung:

Jap raha hai aaj mala ek Hindu ki Arab
Bramhan zade mein shaan-e dilbari aisi to ho
Hikmate Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru kki kassam
Mar mite Islam jis par kafiri aisi to ho

A rough translation:

The Arab world is singing praises today of
a Hindu Bramhin`s courage. Nehru is such a
man that even Islam would embrace such an
infidel.

The best analogy to describe the relationship between US and Pakistan is one of a Pirate (USA) and his trained Monkey (Pakistan) or a john (USA) and a prostitute (Pakistan). And there are enough Pimps in Pakistan to sell it or lease it.

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One of the finest tributes paid to the American people was by that great Bengali lawyer and Pakistan`s Prime Minister Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy who spoke as follows to the United States Senate on 11 July 1957:

Mr. President and distinguished Members of this august House: It is indeed a privilege to be permitted to address you this afternoon, or on any other occasion, as I stand before the chosen representatives of the many States which constitute this great country, the United States of America.

I bring to you the greetings and the warm feelings of friendship from my country, Pakistan. [Applause.] The ties that bind us are far more cordial than those that depend on mere economic relationships. We pursue the same ideals. We have the same outlook on life, on society, on the value of humanity, on the dignity of the individual, on the relationship which should exist between the people and the State. We believe in certain basic values; and these are far stronger ties - based, as they are, on common ideals - than any mundane, ordinary influences.

I have had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to the resting places and the monuments of those leaders of yours who will remain for all time an inspiration not only to you, but also to the world and to all those who believe in liberty, independence, freedom of thought, and freedom of the person.

This morning, I paid homage to your great hero, George Washington, whose name is now enshrined in the greatest moral precepts which for all time to come will be the basis of human relationships.

I have paid my homage before the monument of Abraham Lincoln, whose immortal words will go down for all time as the most noble that any mortal man we know of could have uttered - an inspiration from on high, that must for all time to come be something of which the world can be proud, as it is proud that it has produced a figure of such stature.

I have paid my homage to Jefferson, who may well be said to have been the creator of the modern States of America.

To you who live amongst them, these cannot but be sources of inspiration from which you draw your moral concepts, and indeed you have shown to the world that you have learned your lessons well.

It is not a small matter for a nation to undertake the task of spreading prosperity and happiness, of undertaking to assure peace and progress, and of assuming the responsibilities of insuring to mankind freedom and liberty. This is not a small task which the United States of America has undertaken, and the impact of its efforts is today felt throughout the world. To undeveloped and underdeveloped nations you have given hope that they will be able to reconstruct their lives. Poverty, grinding starvation, frustration, hopelessness, are the breeding grounds of that new influence, misnamed ideology, which is known as communism. You have, by coming to the assistance of countries that well might have been caught in the whirlpool of misfortunes, given them the hope that they can attain status, through the period of evolution, by your assistance.

I should like to assure the Senate that if you look around you will see how many countries you have reconstructed and put on their feet, how many peoples who were suffering the ravages of war and the aftermath of war, how many nations who had no future to look to, you have reconstructed, and to how many peoples and nations and human beings you have diffused happiness and prosperity. That is a very satisfying picture.

But at the same time I am certain that, much as we may be grateful for all you have done for those countries, much as we may reciprocate in furthering the ideas which you and I profess, there is another, if I may so call it, feather in your cap, namely, that you have done this, not to satisfy your conscience, not as charity to others, but because you feel that God has placed you in such a position that you have realized and undertaken the responsibility of coming to the help of those not so fortunately situated as you.

You have with you a most powerful weapon which your wealth, on the one hand, and the intelligence of your scientists on the other have created, a weapon that can destroy mankind, a weapon that you had in your hand when you could have conquered the world, a weapon that you disdained to use for such purposes, a weapon that you preserved in the cause of peace. That is a wonderful thing. It is a weapon that you are now using to further progress and apply to the cause of peaceful development. [Applause.]

Others have discovered the secrets of that weapon, and others threaten the peace which you are preserving. That is the danger of that weapon. In your own hand it was something which preserved peace. God forbid that, in the hands of others it should be utilized to destroy peace. But we can see that so long as you pursue the paths - the moral paths which you are pursuing - these weapons in your hands will be the greatest deterrent to those who might pursue the paths of war. These weapons in your hands will insure peace for humanity.

I would, therefore, not join my voice with those who merely look upon these weapons as destructive weapons meant to destroy humanity. Were it not for this, heaven knows that by this time possibly the world again would have been engulfed in a terrible, destructive war.

In foreign relations you have pursued the paths laid down by the United Nations Charter, and by doing that you have given hope to the smaller nations of the world that they will be able to secure peace and justice from those of their neighbors who seem to be starting on the road to imperialism.

On the one side the old imperialism is dying and decaying. Countries within its thrall are now gaining independence. And, on the other hand, many countries are now coming under the sway of a new form of imperialism - far more destructive, far more enslaving than the kind which has gone before.

The United Nations offers us an avenue through which we can preserve peace and avoid war. It is a tribunal to which we can carry our difficulties, and from which we can hope to secure justice.

To you who have upheld the dignity of the United Nations, therefore, I render the thanks and gratitude of the smaller nations of the world. [Applause.]

But we see and we have seen that even though we follow the path laid down by the United Nations, many countries which are members of that body deny its validity. In various parts of the world you have been associated with defense agreements, defensive non-aggression pacts, the purpose of which is to stave off aggression and not to attack, not even when provoked. Yet there are countries, members of the United Nations, which reject this policy laid down.

We have seen again that the mandate, the orders, the instructions of this august body are flouted by powerful countries, even though the whole world condemns them. What has taken place in Hungary can never be forgotten by this generation nor even by succeeding generations, and it is a warning to all countries as to what might well befall them if they should become victims of what is called a socialist regime.

Indeed, if one considers socialism in its best aspect, all of us desire and all of us believe in social equality. All of us desire prosperity and happiness for all our countrymen. But the socialism which degrades humanity is the kind of socialism which today assumes to itself the authority to keep other countries under its sway and to enslave them.

Smaller countries - shall I call them naughty countries? - also choose to disobey the orders of the United Nations, relying upon this example of a great country that has defied it. But it must be said to the credit of countries such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and France, that they obeyed the orders which were issued and have rehabilitated themselves in the esteem of the world.

What shall be done against those countries which disobeyed the United Nations? What shall be done to give power to the elbow of this organization? What shall be done to make its instructions obeyed? That is a matter of which must exercise the minds of all those who are anxious to see peace in this world. Each of us has his own ideas on the subject, and this is neither the time nor the forum in which I may expound those entertained by me, but this is certainly a problem which faces all of us.

Mr. President, not long ago you were a distinguished visitor in our country, with your esteemed consort. We have not forgotten your visit or the impact of your visit. You came there on behalf of your country, with good will, as its ambassador, and I assure you that my country has not forgotten your charm, your personality, and the message of good will which you conveyed to us on behalf of the people of the United States. [Applause.]

May I reciprocate those good wishes a thousandfold. I have come to this country for the first time. It has always been - and you can very well imagine why - my great desire to visit a country of which my people have heard so much, regarding which we have felt so much, but of which we have seen so little.

I am happy to be here amongst you, and I wish to thank you most cordially for your kindness, for your reception, and for the manner in which you have received me amongst you.

I wish to render to you again my thanks for giving me this opportunity of speaking to you and conveying to you the greetings of my countrymen in Pakistan. [Applause, Senators rising.]

Indians

Don`t worry. We will soon have Pakistanis and Islamized Dhimmis defending the ruling. We will know in gory detail why it is the same thing as any punishment meted out to anyone in other countries.

Alla Ho Akbar

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Nazar Sahib,

To the history add recent missing part of the Puzzle to Creation of Pakistan. That missing part is Talibanization of Pakistan``. Pakistan is incomplete without that.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-pakistan-sentence-acid.html