THE testimony of two American security chiefs before a Senate committee epitomises the 'complicated relationship' that characterises Islamabad's ties with Washington. While they admitted that, thanks to Pakistan, Al Qaeda was at its weakest since 9/11, both CIA chief Leon Panetta and counter-terrorism chairman Michael Leiter orchestrated the decade-old 'do more' mantra but admitted that Pakistan had its way of looking at things. Said Mr Panetta: “They look at issues related to their national interest and take steps that complicate the relationship.” What else does the CIA chief expect Pakistan to do except to look at all issues from the point of view of its own interests? Surely America too looks — as it must — at all international questions from its own perspective. That's why governments interact to decide whether or not there is a commonality of interest to bring them together.

There is a lot at stake for both Pakistan and America in whatever has been going on in the region and beyond since 9/11. One fact should overshadow all other considerations: no country has suffered more civilian and military casualties than Pakistan at the hands of a common enemy — terrorists of all hues. The sites bombed by the Taliban grouping include not only Pakistani mosques and shrines but also premises universally regarded as sacrosanct — hospitals and schools. Some American diplomats — among them the late Richard Holbrooke — never hesitated to admit the trauma Pakistan has suffered because of its commitment to the war on terror.

The two security chiefs' comments and Senator Dianne Feinstein's bit about “both sides of the street” come four months ahead of the beginning of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some concerns are valid because of Pakistan's reluctance to go for an all-out military operation in North Waziristan seen as one of the biggest havens for local and foreign militants. However, surely, the Obama administration's Afghan policy has more than America's national interests dear to it. With voters having already handed over the lower house to the Republicans in the mid-term election, the least the Democratic Party can do for the 2012 presidential election is to minimise casualties, regional states' interest being of less consequence. Besides, while America sees reluctance on Islamabad's part to 'do more', it has entered into a dialogue with militant groups to cover its retreat. If common interests brought Pakistan and America together, let Washington ensure that the long-term ties it has pledged do not fall victim to passing irritants as the Raymond Davis affair or its view of the ISI's purported walk on “both sides”. The hazards of the future should serve to cement their relationship.