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ISLAMABAD: As politicians wrangle in parliament and in front of television cameras about the state of the country’s relations with the US, behind the scenes officials from both sides have been finalising the real deal.
High-level interaction between the two countries picked up momentum over the past fortnight and those who were part of the talks hint that the two sides are close to finding common ground.
Although the green signal has to come from the parliament where the legislators may be shying away from appearing too close to the Americans because of political expediencies and security fears, those in the know feel that the recent meetings have led to concrete progress on some contentious issues.
However, any settlement will be formalised after the parliament completes its debate and sets the guidelines for the new-look ties.But if the executive had its say, the possible shape of the quid pro quo could be: Pakistan conditionally announcing the resumption of Nato supply routes and the US altering its drone war to address Islamabad’s concerns with a probable unannounced cessation of strikes.
Moreover, the US would offer apology for the Nov 26 border incident and clear some $1.5 billion in Coalition Support Fund (CSF) arrears.
The CSF arrangement in its present shape would be revoked and the two sides could be signing CSF 2.0, which Pakistanis believe would be more ‘respectful’ than its predecessor agreement.
USAID chief Rajiv Shah would be the next to visit Islamabad in the coming days to listen to his Pakistani interlocutors about their proposals for projects run by US aid.
Both countries are keen to normalise the relationship, but chief among the US goals is to stabilise Afghanistan for which it considers Pakistan’s help as crucial.
US Deputy Secretary Thomas Nides, during his visit to Islamabad, had stressed the importance of staying engaged and accommodating each other’s concerns.
“Too much is at stake for us to turn away from each other, so we must work through all of these challenges,” he had said as he echoed President Barack Obama’s call for a balanced approach in the ties.
No one would speak on record about the various options being discussed because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit only confirmed that various proposals were being mulled over.
“Different ideas are being discussed but nothing is final yet,” he said at his weekly briefing.
The government, conscious of the US patience with the protracted parliamentary review running thin, is set to change its tactics for getting the proposed guidelines through. As a first step, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has already convinced PML-N to end its boycott of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The amended set of PCNS proposals, according to a source familiar with behind-the-scenes negotiations with the opposition parties represented in PCNS, could be accompanied by a dissenting note unlike the previous version that were framed with near consensus.
A PPP legislator disclosed that forthcoming elections and anti-Americanism aside, the Difa-e-Pakistan phenomenon had been crucial in making some of the opposition groups back out from the earlier set of proposals.
DRONES: Sources, briefed on the recent Pak-US interactions, claimed that there was a clear rethink in the American administration about the drone campaign. They even expected an unannounced end to the strikes.
“The Americans will have to do something, they know it,” a senior Pakistani official said. His views were separately endorsed by another official, who had participated in the recent bilateral discussions.
It is said that the rethink on drones was possible only because of the hard line taken on the issue by both the civilian and the military leaders, and more importantly because of a united front put up against the strikes.
The Pakistanis have similarly told the Americans that they wouldn’t take part in joint counter-terrorism operations with them.
Nato routes: Reopening of suspended Nato routes is almost certain, but would come with conditions and at a higher cost.
The dilemma confronting Islamabad is that failing to restore the supply lines would not only affect the normalisation process with the US, but would also be taken as undermining the UN-mandated Isaf counter-terrorism effort in Afghanistan that involves some 50 countries.
