In utter disregard of ground realities National Sevcurity Adviser Moeed Yousuf wants Pak-US relations not to be based on security and defence but on economy, trade and business. As things stand, Pakistan does not possess an extra-large middle class to be considered a big market for US consumer goods. Unlike some of the Middle Eastern countries Pakistan does not spend billions of dollars on purchase of US armaments. What the USA currently needs is Pakistan’s support to persuade the Taliban to end violence and join efforts to create a coalition government in Afghanistan capable of bringing peace to the war-torn country and ensuring that the country does not turn into a terrorist hub threatening the world at large.
This explains why military leaders and ambassadors from the USA, the EU, the Middle East and several other important countries have over the year made a beeline to GHQ instead of calling on anyone else. There have been three telephone calls between the Army Chief and the US Defense Secretary and one between General Bajwa and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken over the last three months.
There is a widespread perception that Pakistan, more than any other country, can persuade the Taliban to enter into talks with the Afghan government. The perception is based on the past practice of the Taliban to seek shelter in adjoining tribal areas of Pakistan when under pressure in Afghanistan while their leadership got medical treatment or traveled through Pakistan to other countries. Pakistan needs to make use of whatever leverage it possesses to persuade the Taliban to work out a peaceful solution to the Afghan imbroglio.
A continuation of the civil war does not suit Pakistan. In order to win the war the Taliban will inevitably join hands with all the terrorist networks currently operating from Afghanistan. As happened earlier, the bloody war will be fought on ethnic and sectarian lines also. This will turn millions of Afghans into refugees, who will trek to Pakistan as before, bringing with them numerous terrorists who had escaped the dragnet in Swat, Waziristan and other tribal districts. They will bring weapons and narcotics with them. Their arrival in Pakistan will strengthen violent extremist networks like the TLP and the remnants of banned outfits who would create lawlessness in the country.
