MR Haqqani, the former ambassador to the US, has recently suggested that the US and Pakistan end their ‘special relations’.

To tell you the truth, there has never been such a relationship. The scale of our dependence -- political, economic and military -- is so great that for decades the US has been treating us as their vassal.

The continuation of the drone strikes against all norms of international law and in the teeth of our protests and the refusal to apologise for killing 24 soldiers are the most recent examples of this reality.

Things can only change if we begin standing on our own two feet. Given the lifestyle of our political and military leadership, it is unlikely to happen in the near future.

BIRJIS HASAN KHAN Karachi