Source: Dawn newspaper

WASHINGTON, May 9: The United States and Pakistan move further away from each other as efforts to revive their ties derail and the US Congress seeks new restrictions on aid to Islamabad.

A bill moved in the US House Appropriations subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations suggests making US assistance to Pakistan subject to cooperation certification from the Secretary of State.

The biggest disappointment for the Pakistani government, however, came with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton`s departure from India after publicly criticising Islamabad for providing `a launching pad` to terrorists.

She also claimed that the new Al Qaeda chief Ayman AlZawahiri, like his predecessor Osama bin Laden, was hiding in Pakistan. The Pakistanis had reasons to believe that Secretary Clinton might make a surprise stopover in Islamabad after visiting New Delhi and Dhaka and seek to rebuild a relationship that has gone from bad to worse over the past 15 months.

The Pakistanis received another shock when the Americans indicated that they might not be invited to a crucial Nato summit, which begins in Chicago on May 18, to seek a final solution to the Afghan conflict.
Pakistan seems to have few friends in Washington and acondition attached to the draft of the 2013 State and Foreign Appropriations Bill amply reflects this belligerent mood.

The draft requires the Secretary of State to certify that Pakistan is: `(A) cooperating with the United States in counter-terrorism efforts against the Haqqani network, the Quetta Shura Taliban, Lashkar-eTaiba, Jaish-i-Mohammad, Al Qaeda and other domestic and foreign terrorist organisations, including taking steps to end support for such groups and prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan and carrying out cross-border attacks into neighbouring countries; (B) not supporting terrorist activities against United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Pakistan`s military and intelligence agencies are not intervening extra-judicially into political and judicial processes in Pakistan; (C) dismantling improvised explosive device (IED) networks and interdicting precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of IEDs; (D) preventing the proliferation of nuclear related material and expertise; (E) issuing visas in a timely manner for United States visitors engaged in counter-terrorism efforts and assistance programs in Pakistan; and (F) providing humanitarian organisations access to detainees, internally displaced persons, and other Pakistani civilians affected by the conflict.

Since the May 2, 2011, raidon Bin Laden`s compound, anti-Pakistan feelings run high in the US Congress and diplomatic observers in Washington believe the proposed restrictions will be easily adopted.

Public opinion surveys showing that Pakistan is one of the most unpopular countries in the United States, also explain why the Obama administration is unwilling to make a friendly gesture, such as tendering an apology or sending Secretary Clinton to Islamabad.

The apology is linked to the May 26 US raid on a Pakistani post that killed 24 soldiers and caused Islamabad to block ground supply routes to Afghanistan.

Pakistan`s botched up effort to solicit an apology from the United States and the US demand for the reopening of supply routes before the May 18 Nato summit appear to have further diminished the chances of reviving their bilateral ties.

Diplomatic sources in Washington say that US and Pakistani ambassadors Sherry Rehman and Cameron Munter worked tirelessly to re-establish ties but failed because both governments are seeking re-elections and are afraid of taking measures that may be unpopular with their voters.

Ambassador Rehman had convinced the Americans to offer an apology in February but Islamabad urged Washington to wait for their parliamentary review to complete. The five-month long review, which started soon after the raid, frustrated a move that `would have unlocked the whole process` said a diplomatic source.

When US Special Representative Marc Grossman arrived in Islamabad on April 27 for exploratory talks, the Pakistan Foreign Office put apology as a precondition to attending the Chicago summit. The Americans had a precondition too; open the supply routes before the summit.

`Mr Grossman was given a very hard time in the FO meeting. Although the Pakistani ambassador and finance minister, who had just returned from Washington, advised otherwise,` the source said. `President Zardari was also against taking such a hard stance.

The Pakistanis `talked tough and gave mixed, and often confusing, messages, the source added.

`Ambassador Munter was told that the apology was not a precondition but later the Pakistanis said since their parliament wants an apology, they must have one.