Just as strained Pak-US relations were said to be improving, the two countries have gotten embroiled in a public spat over Wednesday's drone strike that, according to American officials, targeted Haqqani network militants thereby seeking to lend credence to their claims about the existence of Haqqani safe havens on Pakistani soil. That drew an angry reaction from the Foreign Office, saying the drone missiles targeted an Afghan refugee camp in the Kurram Agency, and that such unilateral actions are detrimental to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorists. Although normally avoiding comment on such strikes, this time the American embassy in Islamabad issued a press release using harsh, undiplomatic language, saying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement that the US forces struck an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency "is false."
In its rebuttal, the ISPR made two important points explaining: first that the exact location of the attack was Spintal in Hangu district, a settled area, rather than Kurram, a tribal agency, hence the US' denial that the attack took place in Kurram. Second, that out of a total of 54 Afghan refugee camps, 43 are located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of which Hangu is part and it overlaps Fata. The attack in Hangu, therefore, asserted the ISPR spokesman, targeted an individual who had taken shelter with Afghan refugees, not in any "organized terrorist sanctuaries which have been eliminated." That seems to make sense. In fact, many independent observers, some within the US itself, have been pointing out that 43 percent of Afghanistan is either controlled by the Taliban or is under their influence, from which it follows that the Haqqani fighters do not need to use sanctuaries in Pakistan to launch cross border attacks. Some of Afghan Taliban may be making occasion trips to Pakistan where about three million refugees still live. After all, thousands of tribal people from both sides cross the border every day for business purposes or to meet with relatives. To effectively deal with undesirable elements, Pakistan has repeatedly been calling for the early return of the refugees to their country, cooperative border management, and intelligence sharing between the two sides. Unfortunately, both the Kabul government and the US are unwilling to do any of these things.
Last month, the Trump administration announced that it will take unilateral action (drone attacks) in areas of divergence with Pakistan and expand cooperation where the two countries' interests converge. Indeed, the two countries have a convergence of interests in fighting terrorists, but it cannot be a one-way street. While Pakistan has cleared its tribal areas of extremists of all stripes, the US and the Kabul government continue to look the other way as TTP terrorists use Afghan soil to launch attacks into Pakistan. Making a bad situation worse, in his policy statement on Afghanistan and South Asia, President Trump rode rough shod on Pakistan's sensitivities by assigning a greater role to India in Afghanistan. Anyone familiar with this region's geo-politics knows this is a recipe for trouble. Pakistan cannot be expected to allow its arch-rival, India, to pose a two-front threat to it. Until and unless the US reviews that part of its policy, the divergences will continue to cause problems.
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