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Analysis: U.S.-Pakistan Alliance in Trouble

Council on Foreign Relations

June 26, 2008
Author: Jayshree Bajoria

Increased military action by U.S. forces in Afghanistan to target suspected terrorists in Pakistan's tribal areas is putting a strain on Washington's already tense relationship with Islamabad. A June 10 U.S. air strike (IHT) in which Pakistan's army says eleven of its soldiers died was followed, just weeks later, by NATO forces firing into Pakistan (LAT) after being struck by rockets launched from Pakistani territory. The U.S. and Afghan governments consistently blame militants ensconced in safe havens in Pakistan's tribal areas for violence in Afghanistan, even though the Pakistani government says it's doing all it can to prevent such attacks. But now, patience on both sides has frayed. Afghan President Hamid Karzai last week threatened to send troops (Guardian) inside Pakistan to hunt down the militants. On June 25, Afghan officials publicly accused Pakistan’s intelligence service of plotting to assassinate (NYT) Karzai in April, further escalating tensions between the countries. Pakistan called the allegations baseless (AFP).

U.S. and NATO officials have expressed concern about the Pakistani's strategy toward militants in the tribal areas. Specifically, they warn that ongoing peace talks between Pakistan's newly elected government and tribal leaders in the border region may be leading to increased violence in Afghanistan. NATO spokesman Mark Laity cautioned (Dawn) against the peace deals, saying that such accords have fueled the Afghan insurgency in the past. Amid the ongoing peace talks, militants executed a twenty-two-member peace committee of tribal elders (al-Jazeera). Even so, polls continue to show a majority in Pakistan favor talks with the militants over military action.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.