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US renews bonds with Pakistan Army
* $2 billion military aid package from Washington shows it seeks to meet Pakistan Armys demands
* Analyst says army is seen as a can-do institution
WASHINGTON: When it crafted a giant civilian aid plan for Pakistan last year, the United States proclaimed a turning point in a troubled relationship, with US money henceforth to serve the cause of democracy.
On Friday, in the wake of the latest tensions between the war partners, President Barack Obamas administration announced it would seek another $2 billion in aid for Pakistan this time, destined for the military. The Obama administration has repeatedly pledged support for civilian rule in Pakistan, which was restored in 2008, and said on Friday it would bar assistance from several military units accused of human rights abuses.
But the latest aid package shows that the United States is also keen to meet the wish lists of the army, which has long been a major player in Pakistan and provides vital logistical support for forces in Afghanistan. Teresita Schaffer, a former US diplomat who has served in Islamabad, said the United States faced a balancing act between working with the military and supporting civilian institutions. The US routinely has trouble figuring out exactly where that line belongs and how to stay on the right side of things, said Schaffer, director of the South Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Partly thats because the military in Pakistan is a can-do institution, much more so than the civilians, she said. This is partly theatrics, but we as people are magnetically drawn to an institution and a leader who says, Yeah, I can help you with what you really want to get done, she said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the military package during the two nations latest strategic dialogue, where Pakistans public face was Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
But as in previous talks, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, also turned up in Washington and held meetings behind closed doors. Kayani was unusually public last year in his criticism of Washingtons five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package, calling it undue foreign interference. The bills authors Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar and Representative Howard Berman described the aid as a way to improve US relations with ordinary Pakistanis and dent the allure of extremists.
More recently, Kayani was said to have criticised civilian leaders over their response to major floods. Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Centre at the Atlantic Council, said he did not see a shift so much in Washingtons relations with the Pakistani military as with its perceptions of the civilians. I think the civilian government has missed a number of opportunities to show it is in charge and can take decisions rapidly and firmly, and the floods were a very good example of that, Nawaz said. afp
* $2 billion military aid package from Washington shows it seeks to meet Pakistan Armys demands
* Analyst says army is seen as a can-do institution
WASHINGTON: When it crafted a giant civilian aid plan for Pakistan last year, the United States proclaimed a turning point in a troubled relationship, with US money henceforth to serve the cause of democracy.
On Friday, in the wake of the latest tensions between the war partners, President Barack Obamas administration announced it would seek another $2 billion in aid for Pakistan this time, destined for the military. The Obama administration has repeatedly pledged support for civilian rule in Pakistan, which was restored in 2008, and said on Friday it would bar assistance from several military units accused of human rights abuses.
But the latest aid package shows that the United States is also keen to meet the wish lists of the army, which has long been a major player in Pakistan and provides vital logistical support for forces in Afghanistan. Teresita Schaffer, a former US diplomat who has served in Islamabad, said the United States faced a balancing act between working with the military and supporting civilian institutions. The US routinely has trouble figuring out exactly where that line belongs and how to stay on the right side of things, said Schaffer, director of the South Asia programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Partly thats because the military in Pakistan is a can-do institution, much more so than the civilians, she said. This is partly theatrics, but we as people are magnetically drawn to an institution and a leader who says, Yeah, I can help you with what you really want to get done, she said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the military package during the two nations latest strategic dialogue, where Pakistans public face was Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
But as in previous talks, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, also turned up in Washington and held meetings behind closed doors. Kayani was unusually public last year in his criticism of Washingtons five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package, calling it undue foreign interference. The bills authors Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar and Representative Howard Berman described the aid as a way to improve US relations with ordinary Pakistanis and dent the allure of extremists.
More recently, Kayani was said to have criticised civilian leaders over their response to major floods. Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Centre at the Atlantic Council, said he did not see a shift so much in Washingtons relations with the Pakistani military as with its perceptions of the civilians. I think the civilian government has missed a number of opportunities to show it is in charge and can take decisions rapidly and firmly, and the floods were a very good example of that, Nawaz said. afp
