WASHINGTON: "You don't love us as much as you love India," was the whiny refrain Pakistan brought to the table in its resumed "strategic" dialogue with the United States, underscoring the failure of Obama administration's five-year effort to walk Islamabad away from its India obsession.
In his opening remarks at his meeting with US secretary of state John Kerry on Monday, Pakistan's National Security advisor Sartaj Azizmade addressing Islamabad's concerns about India, particularly the key role US is ceding to New Delhi in Afghanistan, a "pre-requisite" for advancing Pakistan's strategic relationship with the United States.
"There is a strong perception in Pakistan that while a lot of pressure is exerted on Pakistan on issues of concerns to India, our legitimate concerns are not conveyed to India with the same intensity," Aziz complained bluntly, insisting that the United States should stop looking at Pakistan from the two specific lenses of Afghanistan or Terrorism. "These are legitimate US concerns but these must be balanced by giving due importance to Pakistan's own security concerns. There is in fact need for a careful attention to the long term effects of US policies on Pakistan's security," he said.
"If these important pre-requisites are met, then the contribution of other elements of this important relationship such as expanded trade, higher level of private investment, long term partnership on some major projects, will become far more significant and mutually reinforcing," he added, in a clear indication that Pakistan's foreign policy is still driven by its neurotic and India-centric security concerns.
In his opening remarks at his meeting with US secretary of state John Kerry on Monday, Pakistan's National Security advisor Sartaj Azizmade addressing Islamabad's concerns about India, particularly the key role US is ceding to New Delhi in Afghanistan, a "pre-requisite" for advancing Pakistan's strategic relationship with the United States.
"There is a strong perception in Pakistan that while a lot of pressure is exerted on Pakistan on issues of concerns to India, our legitimate concerns are not conveyed to India with the same intensity," Aziz complained bluntly, insisting that the United States should stop looking at Pakistan from the two specific lenses of Afghanistan or Terrorism. "These are legitimate US concerns but these must be balanced by giving due importance to Pakistan's own security concerns. There is in fact need for a careful attention to the long term effects of US policies on Pakistan's security," he said.
"If these important pre-requisites are met, then the contribution of other elements of this important relationship such as expanded trade, higher level of private investment, long term partnership on some major projects, will become far more significant and mutually reinforcing," he added, in a clear indication that Pakistan's foreign policy is still driven by its neurotic and India-centric security concerns.
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