We are being subjected to carrot and stick policy by Washington since 1947. Whenever the Americans felt that Islamabad is annoyed over some matter with the US, it took no time in rushing its officials to Pakistan to offer carrots and mend fences. We have been witnessing this love-hate relationship between these two countries since Pakistan was created on the world map as an independent entity. The recent tough statements of our Foreign office in which the US foreign policy vis-a-vis Pakistan was criticised forced the US think-tanks to address Islamabad’s concerns at once lest the relationship between these two countries is damaged beyond repair. Time and again Washington has been harping on the tune of ‘do more ‘ conveniently forgetting the untold sacrifices being made by our armed forces. The current military operation against the terrorists being carried out by our armed forces is a major offensive, the like of which is difficult to find else where in recent military history, barring of course the 29-year long offensive of the Sri Lankan forces against the rebels in Sri Lanka a couple of years back.
It is a pity that most of our rulers have been lackeys of the tenant of the White House. They cared for the interests of the Americans in this part of the world more than Pakistan’s interests. Unlike us, the Indians or the Iranians or for that matter even the Cubans didn’t play second fiddle to the Americans on every political issue. It was wrongly assumed by our past or even present leadership that heavens would fall if we deviated from the path chosen by the Americans for us. The examples of India, Iran and Cuba, to mention a few, are before us. They are alive and thriving despite the fact that they unlike us never kowtowed to Washington to the extent we made ourself subservient to the US.
Let us admit that it is the US which is solely responsible for the spread of terrorism in the world. Let us not forget that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Had the US kept a balance in its relationship with the Muslims and the Jews in the middle east and elsewhere neither the PLO would have come into existence nor the Alquaida and nor for that matter other Islamic militant organisations.