KILLING OF HAKIMULLAH MEHSUD: ITS IMPLICATIONS ON PAK US REALTIONSHIP

ALTAF AHMAD DAR US Pakistan-relationship continuing over 65 years, both countries have sustained it, sometimes happily, other times not so happily. Many see the U.S. strategic interests are inextricably linked with a stable Pakistan. President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously called Pakistan America’s “most allied ally in Asia.” Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been seriously strained several times over recent years, including in 2011, when U.S. forces killed al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden in a raid that Pakistan said violated its sovereignty. But cash-strapped Pakistan depends to a great extent on U.S. support. Washington, despite frustrations over the relationship, is unlikely to break completely with its nuclear-armed ally. The Pakistani Prime Minister’s October 2013 state visit to Washington was viewed by many as a good response to a recent deterioration in U.S.-Pakistan ties.” The recently improved relationship got once again twist on 1 Nov.2013 by the death of Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone that could cripple the group but undermine an effort by Pakistan’s government to engage militants in peace talks.It has infuriated the Pakistani government and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that Pakistan will review relations with the US and make complaints over the American attack to the UN Security Council. "This is not just the killing of one person. It's the death of all peace efforts." Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politico who heads the Tehrik-i-Insaf party (PTI), has also condemned the timing of the strike, saying the U.S. has been thwarting the peace process in Pakistan with the ongoing CIA secret drone campaign in the country. In retaliation, he has proposed to block NATO supplies to Afghanistan that run through the province where his party is in power. Killing of Mehsud will impact on many dimensions of Pak US relationship. The first is that Pakistan is the main route for supplies for U.S. troops in landlocked Afghanistan, for everything from food and drinking water to fuel, and the closure of the routes could be a serious disruption as U.S. and other Western forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year. Pakistani cooperation is also seen as vital in trying to bring peace to Afghanistan, in particular in nudging the Afghan Taliban, allied but separate from the Pakistani Taliban, into talks with the Kabul government. Second, Mehsud is considered as one of the brave and respectful leader among TTP and it could affect the peace talks between govt and TTP. One of The TTP Taliban leader criticized the government and alleged that on one hand it is talking about peace talks with the Taliban and on the other it has failed to stop the US drone strikes. He said talks could not be held with the government when Taliban leaders were being targeted in American drone strikes. It would be now tough for Pakistan to start peace talks with the Talban and it is considered that the leaders who are in the race of Mehsud’s Succession are tough and there would be little hope of compromise. Even if talks started, it was unclear how successful they would be unless the government gave significant concessions to the militants. Third the public outcry against the drone strikes in the Pakistan will intensify, which Pakistan is believed to be an attack on its sovereignty. In Last month, Mr Sharif in a visit to Washington repeated his request for an end to the drone strikes. Pakistan has learned few lessons from its past intimacy with the US. Islamabad’s number one complaint vis¬ ଠvis the U.S. has always been, and is, that Washington has proven to be an untrustworthy partner and all this shows the extreme pace with which intolerance is growing in Pakistani society. What is needed at this point of time is that the US should stop drone attacks in Pakistan, take into full confidence on the war on terror and all day to day progress in Afghanistan. ALTAF AHMAD DAR IS A RESEARCH SCHOLAR SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY daraltaf87@gmail.com