A History of US- Pakistan Relations

Jamshed Nazar
Dec 12, 2003

Introduction
was founded on 14 August, along with when the two nations achieved independence from the British Colonial Empire. The partition of the sub continent had occurred along ethnic-religious lines with created in those adjoining territories that had majority Muslim populations. Thus the country of with seventy million people had above 90% Muslim . On the other hand, had a majority Hindu but Muslims were also a sizeable second minority group comprising 15% of the Indian . The regions comprising included the provinces of Sind, Punjab, Balochistan and Northwest Frontier Province on the western side of and the province of East Bengal in the east of . The two wings of eastern and western were separated by a thousand miles of Indian territories. inherited most of the infrastructure from the colonial establishment and received some share out of assets. However, the regions comprising the land of were less developed as compared to and the administrative infrastructure was also limited. Both countries gained some assets left over after the end of the World Two. The main challenges that faced at the time of its independence were related to its security fears, lack of infrastructure in the country and limited financial resources. The creation of two separate states and the division of the countries over ethno-religious lines had create a large migration across the two countries accompanied by ethnic cleansing, rioting and looting. The partition of the sub continent had been a contentious debacle and and had disputed division of assets as well as territories of the two countries. The state of was a major cause of dispute as both and made claims for the state. The dispute led to a limited in 1948 that resulted in one third of the state occupied by and the other two thirds overtaken by .

The initial years -1952
After the creation of the two countries, followed a more pro western whereas the Indian defined its foreign with a more leftist to non aligned stance. was looking for strong friends in order to persuade its bigger and much stronger neighbor to give in to its claims over the territory of . also needed financial support for its infrastructure development and modernization of its armed forces. Right from the beginning the founder father of sent its representative to the US for financial and assistance. based its case on the post World scenario of confrontation between the Soviet Union and the West. contented that the Soviet Union wanted to get access to the Arabian Sea and to increase its influence in the Middle East. was a nation beyond that could avert such Soviet designs. as a Muslim state had no affiliations with the communists and was a natural regional ally for the United States. On the other hand, the ruling party in , the Indian National Congress, and ’s leaders were closer in ideology to socialism and the Soviet Union. As a US ally in the region, could provide a foot hold for the US in the region against any Soviet expansionist efforts in .

From the US perspective, the United States was more occupied in the post reconstruction in Western Europe and Japan, its containment efforts in South East Asia and the Middle East. The United States in the initial years of was less interested in getting involved in the emerging conflicts of . The Pakistanis wanted to strengthen their relations with the US so as to get an advantage in their confrontation with over . On the other hand, the US did not see the usefulness of a strong relationship with and US interests in were limited. The dispute dragged on despite UN Security Council resolutions that were agreed upon by both and in 1949 for a ceasefire and proposal for a plebiscite. The issue remained unresolved and became the main bone of contention between and resulting in three subsequent wars.


The evolving relations & Ayub Era 1952-1969
Prospects for ’s relations with US improved after Republican Eisenhower came to power in 1952 in the White House. pushed its case as an ally that could provide support for Middle East security and in return it asked for and economic support for its flail . Unstable domestic politics had led to political and economic distress while the bureaucratic and officers were getting stronger in the country. The Republican was more receptive of the Pakistani position and its claims of anti communist stand and an available allied state. joined with Turkey as member of the Middle East Defense Organization (MEDO) in 1954. This allowed to formally seek aid as a regional ally of the US. In January 1955, joined South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) with a view to adding security to the East Asian flank of anti communist alignment. However, it was not clear how ’s role in both these organizations would actually materialize in the case of an actual conflict. However, for the Pakistanis, becoming part of these alliances allowed the country to create stronger links with the US administration and seek increasing aid.

In September 1955, became a member of the Baghdad Pact organization which later became known as CENTO. Turkey, Iran and were its earlier members with the US as the backer of the security arrangement. The role of this organization was similar to the earlier MEDO as a northern-tier defense arrangement against communist influence in the Middle East. "In the end, neither the Baghdad Pact not SEATO amounted to much militarily. …Joining the Baghdad Pact and SEATO gave a strengthened claim on US resources and, in turn, the US acquired an even larger stake in ’s well being. As ’s president Ayub Khan put it in his biography, “Friends Not Masters”, had become America’s “most allied ally in Asia”" (Reference 1).

A key development from ’s perspective was the amount of development and aid that started in 1954 and increased to $500 million by 1957 as a result of ’s joining the regional defense organizations and allying with the . During the second Eisenhower term, the relations between the two countries became even stronger. ’s Army Chief staged a in 1958 and later became the President of . Field Marshal Ayub Khan had developed strong relations with the Americans and his era from 1958 to 1969 turned out to a strong era of US- relations. In 1959, Aub’s allowed the US to set up an intelligence facility in Badaber, NWFFP province and operate U2 surveillance flights over the Soviet Union from its Peshawar Airport. This arrangement and the closer relationship of the Pakistani with the US administration allowed it to acquire increasing hardware and arms for its defense services. The issue troubling the US was ’s closer relations with . The Indians and Chinese had fought a in 1962 in which had given a bloody nose. As a result moved to improve and strengthen its relations with in order to position itself as a stronger foe for . However, ’s growing friendship with communist irked the US who was facing a proxy against the communists in Vietnam. and fought a in 1965 that was an ill fated affair started by a limited guerilla in that Ayub started in order to pressurize to come to the negotiating table over . However, as the spread, could not sustain a long term conflict and asked for a truce and both forces moved back to their previous borders.


Creation of 1969 – 1972
Army Chief General Yahya took over power from President Ayub Khan in March 1969. The country had been in a pseudo rule since 1958. Political representation had been insufficient and regional succession movements were strengthening in the country especially in the eastern province of Bengal. were held in the country in 1970 with the East Pakistani party Awami League taking a majority in the . The did not hand over power to the winning party and in a political deadlock, unleashed a crackdown against the East . This led to a limited civil in and siding with the dissidents launched a in December . After a fortnight of fighting, the Pakistani forces in East accepted default and the state of was established. The US in this debacle was aligned with the establishment of due to its earlier links and defense . On the other hand, President Nixon used the Pakistani links with to start a secret diplomacy with which culminated with Henry Kessinger’s secret visit to in July while he was visiting . The Chinese relationship was vital for the US as it was trying to fix the mess in its Vietnam . With these concerns, the US administration neglected the internal domestic issues of and allowed the to have its way in East . "The opening to was an essential element in Nixon’s strategy of creating a new global balance of power. His aim was to bring into the of nations – reversing two decades of US efforts to isolate Beijing – and to use an improved US-Chinese relationship as a lever with Moscow to press for US-Soviet détente." (Refrence 1)

Rather than focusing on their domestic problems and working effectively to find solutions, the rulers in had been focusing in international affairs and the Great Game and considered the close relationship with the US as a guarantee for their own domestic survival. However, this proved to be a false notion and Pakistani lost big time in the with in . Over 90,000 soldiers were taken as prisoners of by and East declared its independence. With this large defeat, the finally gave in and handed over power in the remaining country of West to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who took over as the first elected Prime Minister of the country.

Bhutto Years 1972 – 1977
Prime Minister Bhutto initially focused his attention with normalizing the domestic situation in the country. The of signed a truce with , recognized the of and eventually the 90,000 prisoners were returned by . The major challenge for the new came in May, 1974 when executed an underground nuclear test. This forced the Pakistanis to also seek a program to match ’s capabilities. This became a major cause for concern for the US administration. started efforts to acquire a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant from France and a heavy water facility from West Germany. During Bhutto’s ’s foreign was aligned to see ka balance between its relations with , Russia and the . placed a special emphasis on its relations with the Arab countries in the Middle East.

During Ford and later Jimmy Carter’s administration, sanctions were placed on related to export control and restriction of aid grants. Prime Minister Bhutto called in March 1977 from which he gained a landslide victory. However, the opposition blamed it on massive rigging and started a public campaign to oust Bhutto. Prime Minister Bhutto claimed in public rhetoric that the American were behind the opposition movement and wanted to punish his for its program and alignment with the Arabs. In July 1977, the Army seized power in a for the third time in the country. General Zia initially promised but later firmed his grip on the and started a murder trial against Bhutto which eventually led to Bhutto’s hanging for the alleged crime in 1979.

Zia Years 1977 – 1988
After hanging the former Prime Minister, Zia strengthened his hold on the and used a cover of Islamic reforms to give credibility to his . Jimmy Carter’s administration developed closer relations with while was more or less isolated due to its new dictators. On the nuclear front, General Zia continued the previous of Bhutto in acquiring and developing capabilities for . The chilling relations between the US and took another a U-turn when the Soviet Army entered neighboring in December 1979 to support the local communist . "Just four days after the Soviet invasion, On December 29, 1979, Jimmy Carter approved a broader covert action program that instructed the CIA to provide weapons and ammunition …for the Afghan anticommunist fighters, who soon became widely knows as “mujahideen”…At ’s insistence, the CIA funneled all aid through the Pakistani intelligence service ISI, which in turn handed over supplies to Afghans." (Reference 1). With the Reagan Administration in the White House, the support for the covert in increased along with the value of the Pakistani cooperation. was rewarded with a $3.2 billion aid package for the next six years. As the Afghan progressed more than three million refugees entered .

During this period, was considered a valuable ally and the US ignored the increasing developments on the nuclear front as well as the human abuses by the Zia regime. The success of the Afghan effort was crucial for the American Administration as it was bled the Soviet and placed huge pressure in terms of resources. Fed up with the costs of the and covert operations by the mujahideen, supported by the CIA and the Pakistani ISI, by 1988, the Russians had had enough and were ready for a respectable evacuation from . The usefulness of for the with respect to , thus, ended when Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to a retreat in April 1988. General Zia died in a mysterious plane crash months later in August 1988 and political were held in .


Unstable democratic governments 1988 – 1998
After the 1988 , Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of former Prime Minister Bhutto, came into power. Until 1990, the $600 million and economic aid that had started after the Afghan effort by the US had continued. However, every year, the US president had to certify under the Pressler Amendment, enacted in 1984, that did not posses a nuclear device. "After October 1, 1990, passed without certification, the $564 million economic and aid program approved for fiscal year 1991 was frozen. At the time, was the third-highest recipient of US aid; only Israel and Egypt received more assistance" (Refrence 1) . At this point the main of the was to try to create a friendly mujahideen regime in , continue to develop its nuclear and missile program and support the militant insurgency in . Since the US and Pakistani interests had diverted at this point, with the Soviets retreating from and the US involved in the Middle East, the Pakistanis felt isolated by their “old friend” and “ally”.

Domestic politics, once again, became unstable and four successive governments in were dissolved one after another in a matter of 11 years with the Army, as always, the main power broker among the political stalwarts. Benazir held the Prime Minister’s office twice from 1988-1990 and from 1993-1996. Her main opponent, Nawaz Sharif, held office from 1990-1993 and 1996-1999. Gross fiscal mismanagement, political instability and US sanctions created large fiscal deficits and the governments borrowed heavily from international lenders. The Clinton Administration had a tilt towards the more democratic Indian during this time. The Pakistanis contented that the Pressler Amendment was specific to and the sanctions were unjustified. Additional sanctions were placed after acquired M11 missiles and delivery systems from which violated the MTCR regime. By 1996 ’s Afghan efforts were bringing some success and the ISI backed Taliban was established in . The US administration initially welcome the prospects of in the country but later opposed the Taliban regime based on their extreme views and gross violations of human .

A new turn of events unfolded in May 1998 when the new Indian tested several nuclear devices. The Clinton Administration put a lot of pressure on the Pakistani to refrain from tit for tat nuclear tests. However, came under intense internal pressure and detonated their nuclear devices two weeks later. Although a new nuclear deterrent had been established between and , another wave of international sanctions followed from the international community. This put further pressure on the already weak political of .

The US had a new interest in by mid 1998 after the terrorist attacks on US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed two hundred people and were carried on by an organization belonging to Osama Bin Ladin, a former Saudi national living in . The US administration wanted to use its influence on the Taliban to make them handover the culprit over to the US. However, the Taliban refused and new animosity started in the region. In early 1999, had a spate of diplomatic discussion to improve their relations with but by mid 1999, a limited had erupted in Kargil between the two countries which had been covertly engineered by the Pakistani Army. As increased pressure and an escalating scenario emerged, the US intervened on the request of and the armies retreated to their pre positions. The main casualty in the turned out to the Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif who tried to oust the commander but a executed a and the came into power for the fourth time led by General Musharraf.


Musharraf – and beyond – partners in the fight against
General Musharraf took power at a time when the economic situation of the country was in deep trouble. The rupee was sliding, foreign reserves had been depleted and rampant had messed up the infrastructure of the country. By year 2000, after more than 53 years of independence was still struggling to find a stable political system and an economic infrastructure that would generate sustainable development and improve the quality of life for its people. From the United States perspective, was moving closer to a “failed state” case and it’s nuclear and missile programs were a constant concern for makers in Washington. A failing could easily lead to another backed by the Islamists and the country could fall in hands along with its arsenal of . With this scenario in view, the US administration more or less supported the Musharraf regime in its efforts to build a more stable in .

changed the nature of US – relations once again. Terrorists supported by Osam Bin Ladin’s organization had executed successful attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001. The US President asked the world to make a clear choice to side with the US with the slogan “you are with us or against us”. President Musharraf’s regime, which was previously a supporter and backer of the Taliban regime since its inception, made a U-turn and sided with the US in its against . Siding with the US, Musharraf betted that the decision would result in improving foreign aid and support from World Bank and IMF on the one hand and US support for ’s cause for on the other.

In the last two years, has helped the US capture several hundred operatives of the Al-Qiada organization and has allowed the US to execute operations from its land, air and sea bases. In return for its cooperation, there has been some economic revival of the Pakistani . On the front, however, not much progress has been made since has projected as a supported of in itself, a label vehemently denied by the Pakistanis.

Conclusion
In the historical context of US- relations, it is obvious that the mutual relations between the two countries are based on convergence of common interests from time to time. When the US required U2 surveillance flight facilities and an intelligence base against the Soviets (1959-1968), backdoor diplomacy with the Chinese (1970-72), covert operations against the Red Army in (1980-88) and recently the against (2001 - ??), it has extended its best hand forward in terms of and economic aid as well as support for unelected dictators. On the other hand, during this time has had modest success in growing its with economic aid from the US and from the World Bank and IMF. has performed better in achieving its goal of a nuclear balance with with its extensive missile and nuclear programs. However, time will tell how long the present cooperation between the and lasts and how much can the Pakistanis get in reward for their cooperation with US against Osama Bin Ladin and his Al-Qaida organization.


References:
Reference 1: (Major source of information)
“The United States and , -2000: Disenchanted Allies” By Ambassador Dennis Kux available from:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0801865 727/104-9748465-1965524?v=glance

Deputy Secretary Talbott, "U.S. Diplomacy in : A Progress Report," Address at The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, November 12, 1998
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/strobie.htm

A Fortress Built on Quicksand: U.S. Toward by Ted Galen Carpenter (Ted Galen Carpenter is a foreign analyst at the Cato Institute)
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa080es.html

Emb assy Of , Washington DC. Foreign Objectives:
http://embassyofpakistan.org/pb1.php

Remarks by Ambassador Nancy J. Powell " Council on Foreign Relations" , November 13, 2003
http://usembassy.state.gov/islamabad/wwwhamb03111301.h tml