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Further Reading

Foreign Relations- Pakistan & U.S.A.

The United States and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in 1947. The U.S. agreement to provide economic and military assistance to Pakistan and the latter's partnership in the Baghdad Pact/CENTO and SEATO strengthened relations between the nations. However, the U.S. suspension of military assistance during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war generated a widespread feeling in Pakistan that the United States was not a reliable ally. Even though the United States suspended military assistance to both countries involved in the conflict, the suspension of aid affected Pakistan much more severely. Gradually, relations improved, and arms sales were renewed in 1975. Then, in April 1979, the United States cut off economic assistance to Pakistan, except food assistance, as required under the Symington Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, due to concerns about Pakistan's nuclear program.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 highlighted the common interest of Pakistan and the United States in peace and stability in South Asia. In 1981, the United States and Pakistan agreed on a $3.2 billion military and economic assistance program aimed at helping Pakistan deal with the heightened threat to security in the region and its economic development needs.

Recognizing national security concerns and accepting Pakistan's assurances that it did not intend to construct a nuclear weapon, Congress waived restrictions (Symington Amendment) on military assistance to Pakistan. In March 1986, the two countries agreed on a second multi-year (FY 1988-93) $4 billion economic development and security assistance program. On October 1, 1990, however, the United States suspended all military assistance and new economic aid to Pakistan under the Pressler Amendment, which required that the President certify annually that Pakistan "does not possess a nuclear explosive device."

Several incidents of violence against American officials and U.S. mission employees in Pakistan have marred the relationship. In November 1979, false rumors that the United States had participated in the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca provoked a mob attack on the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad in which the chancery was set on fire resulting in the loss of life of American and Pakistani staff. In 1989, an attack on the American Center in Islamabad resulted in six Pakistanis being killed in crossfire with the police. In March 1995, two American employees of the consulate in Karachi were killed and one wounded in an attack on the home-to-office shuttle. In November 1997, four U.S. businessmen were brutally murdered while being driven to work in Karachi. In March 2002 a suicide attacker detonated explosives in a church in Islamabad, killing two Americans associated with the Embassy and three others. There were also unsuccessful attacks by terrorists on the Consulate General in Karachi in May 2002. Another bomb was detonated near American and other businesses in Karachi in November 2005, killing three people and wounding 15 others. On March 2, 2006, a suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives as a vehicle carrying an American Foreign Service officer passed by on its way to Consulate Karachi. The diplomat, the Consulate's locally-employed driver and three other people were killed in the blast; 52 others were wounded.

The decision by India to conduct nuclear tests in May 1998 and Pakistan's matching response set back U.S. relations in the region, which had seen renewed U.S. Government interest during the second Clinton Administration. A presidential visit scheduled for the first quarter of 1998 was postponed and, under the Glenn Amendment, sanctions restricted the provision of credits, military sales, economic assistance, and loans to the government. The October 1999 overthrow of the democratically elected Sharif government triggered an additional layer of sanctions under Section 508 of the Foreign Appropriations Act, which include restrictions on foreign military financing and economic assistance. U.S. Government assistance to Pakistan was subsequently limited mainly to refugee and counter-narcotics assistance.

The U.S.-Pakistan relationship changed significantly once Pakistan agreed to support the U.S. campaign to eliminate the Taliban in Afghanistan and to join the United States in the Global War on Terror. Since September 2001, Pakistan has provided extensive assistance in the war on terror by capturing more than 600 al-Qaida members and their allies. The United States has stepped up its economic assistance to Pakistan, providing debt relief and support for a major effort for education reform. During President Musharraf's visit to the United States in 2003, President Bush announced that the United States would provide Pakistan with $3 billion in economic and military aid over 5 years. This assistance package commenced during FY 2005.

Following the region's tragic October 8, 2005 earthquake, the United States responded immediately and generously to Pakistan's call for assistance. The response was consistent with U.S. humanitarian values and our deep commitment to Pakistan. At the subsequent reconstruction conference in Islamabad on November 19, 2005, the U.S. announced a $510 million commitment to Pakistan for earthquake relief and reconstruction, including humanitarian assistance, military support for relief operations, and anticipated U.S. private contributions.

In 2004, the United States recognized closer bilateral ties with Pakistan by designating Pakistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally. President Bush visited Pakistan in March 2006, where he and President Musharraf reaffirmed their shared commitment to a broad and lasting strategic partnership, agreeing to continue their cooperation on a number of issues including: the war on terror, security in the region, strengthening democratic institutions, trade and investment, education, and earthquake relief and reconstruction.

The United States and Pakistan concluded the sale to Pakistan of F-16 aircraft in late 2006, further reflecting their deepening strategic partnership. President Musharraf visited Washington in September 2006, where he held a bilateral meeting with President Bush and also participated in a trilateral meeting with President Bush and President Karzai of Afghanistan. The U.S.-Pakistan strategic partnership is based on the shared interests of the United States and Pakistan in building stable and sustainable democracy and in promoting peace and security, stability, prosperity, and democracy in South Asia and across the globe.

In September 2008 it was reported that President George W. Bush had approved secret orders allowing U.S. forces to conduct ground assaults in Pakistan without Islamabad's consent, although that country's military insists it will not allow foreign troops to carry out operations on Pakistani soil. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Admiral Michael Mullen, announced the new strategy will allow American forces to fight militants in Pakistan's tribal regions as well as in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's military leadership insists it will not allow foreign forces to carry out operations on Pakistani territory. In a written statement released by the military, General Ashfaq Kayani said "no external force is allowed to conduct operations" inside Pakistan. The statement also vowed that Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity will be defended at "all cost." These feelings were only intensified after Operation Neptune Spear and the death of Osama bin Laden because Pakistani authorities were never alerted to the operation, for fear of bin Laden being tipped off. The raid was considered by many Pakistanis to be a violation of the nation's sovereignty.

As a result, considerable pressure has been put on Pakistan-U.S. relations, as well as the CIA's drone program, which flys mainly out of the Shamsi Air Base, and formerly Jacobabad Air Base. Pakistan requested additional drone strikes in 2008 and drone attacks have increased in frequency since the election of President Obama. Cables leaked in May 2011 via Wikileaks indicated that Pakistan had asked for "continuous" air coverage by drones, though the nature of the drones missions was left unspecified. But in light of Operation Neptune Spear and the rising tide of anti-americanism, Pakistan has threatened that the continuation of drones missions without the nation's express consent would "force them to act". Islamabad had reportedly asked for the drone bases to be shutdown well before the bin Laden raid in early May. In order to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, America agreed to shutdown its drone base at Shamsi and move them across the border into Afghanistan.

The release of Ray Davis on 16 March 2011, who was arrested in January 2011 for the murder of two Pakistanis, has only acted to further enrage hostile feelings towards America. Davis, a CIA contractor on as-yet-unkown-business in Pakistan, alleged he acted in self-defence as the two men had attempted to rob him. He was released after the families of the deceased pardoned him in court; they had received "blood-money", compensation for the deaths (a standard practice in the region) totalling 200 million rupees ($2.4 million).

On 10 July 2011, $800 million in military aid to Pakistan was suspended, roughly one third of the $2 billion total military aid to that country for the fiscal year. The move came after Pakistan expelled over 100 American military trainers tasked with training Pakistani troops, denied visas to American military equipment trainers, and put limits on visas for American personnel. It was being seen as an attempt to pressure Pakistan into better cooperation with America, but Pakistani military leaders said that "aid with conditions is not acceptable." A Pentagon spokesman said that the money was on hold, not off the table, and once issues between the two nations had been resolved, the aid could continue as it had. Issues to be resolved included the number of visas Pakistan would allow for US personnel and proof of military operations for which Pakistan was seeking reimbursement. Within the aid package, $300 million was to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of equipping and deploying 10,000 soliders along the Afghan border through the Coalition Support Fund, while the remaining $500 million was tied to US military trainers and equipment. In 2010, the US provided almost $4.5 billion in military and civilian aid to Pakistan. Military aid accounted for over half of this amount, totaling nearly $2.7 billion. Even though the reduction in aid hindered talks between the two countries, both said they were still committed to repairing relations.

On 26 November 2011, Pakistan reported that NATO helicopters and jets had attacked a Pakistani military facility along the border with Afghanistan, killing at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and injuring 14 more. Pakistan declared the strike to be completely unprovoked and said it would immediately reassess its relatinos both the trans-Altantic alliance and the United States. Pakistan subsequently closed the border crossing in the Kyber Pass to NATO supply convoys and ordered the US to vacate Shamsi Air Base. Shamsi was believed to be used by the United States to launch strikes within Pakistan using unmanned aerial vehicles.

Afghan officials later accused Pakistani forces of provoking the attack by firing on coalition forces in Afghanistan, a charge that Pakistani officials denied. The US said that it would conduct an inquiry into the circumstances of the attack and designated US Central Command (CENTCOM) as the lead entity for the investigation on 28 November 2011. CENTCOM commander Marine Corps General James N. Mattis appointed Air Force Brigadier General Stephen A. Clark from the US Special Operations Command headquarters to lead the investigation. Pakistan demanded an apology from the US. The US refused to make such a statement until the inquiry into the attack had been concluded.

As a result of the 26 November 2011 attack, Pakistan announced that it would boycott the conference on the future of Afghanistan to be held in Bonn, Germany in December 2011.