WHILE America continues to stress the importance of moving forward with the US-Pakistan relationship, and especially with the Afghan reconciliation process, complications continue to surface. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's congressional testimony on Thursday reiterated some of the messages that came out of her visit to Islamabad earlier this month. For one, while continuing to take a hard line against any Pakistani support for militants launching attacks in Afghanistan, it reinforced the positive notes that had been struck regarding the US-Pakistan relationship. She stated Pakistan's importance for regional stability in very direct language, noting that there is “no solution without Pakistan” and “no stable future” in the region without a US-Pakistan relationship. She also argued that at no point did the CIA chief and the defence secretary suggest ending engagement with Pakistan despite their concerns about the Haqqani network. Second, she repeated earlier statements that the Haqqani network should be squeezed, with Pakistan's help, even as it is negotiated with. But her testimony broadened US language beyond the Haqqanis, noting that any settlement would have to include the Afghan Taliban head Mullah Omar.

But news that came out at the same time from Pakistan's foreign policy and security establishments indicated how knotty this process is going to be. The Foreign Office raised objections to a draft declaration circulated in advance of the upcoming Istanbul conference on the way forward in Afghanistan. The main issue seems to be the breadth of a contact group proposed by the US, which would include not just Afghanistan's immediate neighbours but a number of regional players including India and Central Asian states. Meanwhile, the ISPR chief said in a media interview that Pakistan had yet to be informed about any operational details of the reconciliation process, including its road map, who it should talk to and the roles of various stakeholders.

The broader the circle of stakeholders beyond Afghanistan's immediate neighbours, the more the process will raise concerns among the establishment about Pakistan's own influence over the outcome and even about national security. And while the foreign minister sounded eager to move forward with the process during Ms Clinton's visits, the military does not seem to feel that Pakistan has been made as integral a part of the process as America's public statements would suggest. Nor is this the first time that it has expressed this concern. Taken together, Thursday's statements indicate some nervousness on Pakistan's part about the shape the talks will take even as momentum builds towards them.