Despite a lot of ups and downs in their relations, time has proved that Pakistan and the United States are long-time allies in war on terror in the region and once again, the two are set to jointly deal with the terror threat arising out of the increasing attacks by proscribed TTP militants in the country.

As report, the US authorities are closely monitoring the reports the situation arising out of the  siege  of a counterterrorism centre by TTP terrorists in Bannu of KP province, the United States on Monday has offered unconditional assistance and help to Pakistan in its war against the TTP and terrorists and militants groups. It said that combating and eliminating terrorism was a shared goal of both Pakistan and US. The offer of US help was announced by the State Department Spokesperson Ned Price at a news briefing, after the arrival of Pak Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Washington for parleys and talks with the US authorities. “We offer our deepest sympathies to those injured. We urge those responsible to cease all acts of violence, release the hostages and end the seizure of the counterterrorism centre,” the US Statement Department Spokesperson said in the remarks. The US offer is a good omen for peace in the region as Pakistan alone cannot deal with the TTP threat which has reached an alarming level as is evident from the TTP men taking control of the Counter-Terrorism Department in Bannu and making hostage an Army Major and a number of other interrogators and security personal. It is now more than clear that both US and Pakistan are partners in war on terror forever as both have these shared concerns like dealing with the challenges of terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, terrorist and militants groups along the Af-Pak border and in the border region etc.

Earlier in September, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had announced another $10 million for food security assistance, for Pakistan after the floods devastations in Pakistan. The announcement was made during Secretary Blinken meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in September.   It may be recalled here that the September tour of BBZ to US was extremely successful as  during the series of meeting with the US high-up,  the duo also agreed on a series of development regarding resetting the Pak-US ties beyond the Afghan dilemma.  There extensive conversation had covered variety of issues mostly relating to    bilateral ties and trade enhancement endeavors. Friend in need is a friend indeed. And the US-assistance in this hour of distress when TTP men are on the rampage in the country proves US is our real friend. Resetting and expansion of Pak-US beyond War on terror is what is needed right as it is the best way forward for both the states who are long-time allies in War on Terror. There is no denying that Pakistan and the US have been long time allies in War on Terror in the region. But despite this fact, there have been many ups and downs in their ties but currently with the efforts of current coalition government, the relations have improved and the element of distrust is going to subside as both countries are looking to have cordial ties. Credit goes to Pakistan’s youngest Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who has been very vocally calling for a reset of these ties by searching the common grounds, which are in abundance as it is a fact that both the countries have much in common to work for together than the things on which they disagree with one another. There is no denying that the ridiculous statements and political rhetoric by the former PM Imran Khan, earlier this year, had caused strains in Pak-US ties but Imran Khan’s accusations do not reflect the feelings of the majority of Pakistanis, who want good ties with US based on mutual trust and cooperation in fields that are yet to be explored and which must be aimed at improving the lot of the two people. PTI’s accusation are not a rare occurrence as the party’s politics are based on insane ideology of maligning other, not only the local leaders but also throwing slur at international powers that matter. The party lacks directions where to proceed and it wants to remain glued to power by hook or by crook and hence wants to play with emotions of the masses, befooling them with  new tactics. But the PTI’s rhetoric is bound to fail. In this backdrop, what is needed is to explore and exploit the existing common ground between the people of US and Pakistan so that the two countries can expand their relations beyond their cooperation in the War on Terror. Till now US-Pak ties  mostly revolved around the Afghan conflict which is going complexed with the passage of time, and is right now  but now that foreign troops have withdrawn from the Afghan soil, there is a need for direction for both the countries and the energies should be channelized in other fields of cooperation. Secondly, till now the relations between Pakistan and US are mostly at government level concerning the peace overtures in the regional context and the people of the two countries are not the real beneficiaries of these ties. We are living in new era marked by rapid economic development, the IT expansion and global integration of the people as the boundaries of the countries are no more the one to restrict masses from infiltrating into one another’s markets and societies due to emergence of the social media ,which is playing a big role in influencing on the opinion and mindset of the common man and hence the two people i.e. Pakistan and US also look to new venues between the two countries which can be  opened and expanded through improved ties at government level and at people level and these ties must be developed in a way so that the masses can have the best of them. Pak-origin US citizens are making a good number of the human power in the US. Our doctors are a force to reckon with in the US states, and being a  nuclear power, it also has great strategic importance as in the region it is situated in a region where it has access to the countries like China, India, Afghanistan and Iran. So reviving the ties is more important for the two states and instead of a headlong collision by choosing a path of confrontation as done by Imran Khan, we must focus on cementing ties for the sake of the interest of  the people of the countries. US also appeals to Pakistanis because the former has distinct position among the comity of nations as far as assimilating the people from all over the globe, particularly Muslim world including Pakistan. Another distinct feature of the US is the religious tolerance due to which it is open to accepting people from all around the world. The number of Muslims living in the US, buying properties, enjoying business adventures, exercising their religion without any fear, getting higher education and settling there forever is a clear indication that US is safe destination for Muslims and Pakistanis.  The problem with US and Pakistan governments has been that they focus on short-term goals and expectations but time has come the two side must look for long term partnerships in domains that are not explored yet.

And one is sure that Bilawal’s current tour of US will bear fruit as he very wisely focused on the point of diversifying the Pak-US ties beyond military issues.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 21 2022

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