Musharaf, U.S., and Pakistan

By MUHAMMAD HAFEEZ, PhD

LAHORE, Pakistan—It is generally believed that the United States is continuously and persistently supporting President Pervez Musharraf to keep him working as the president of Pakistan. This is false.America did support Musharraf as long as the U.S. perceived that its interests were actively being served by him and Pakistan.

The situation has changed over the last three years. Since then, the U.S. wanted change in the government in Islamabad but the incumbent government successfully hanged on and sustained the American pressure effectively. Several intrigues were witnessed in the recent years and the most significant conspiracy involved the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan passed through that subversion. The support from the U.S. recently started dwindling as our services to them became contradictive to the emerging national interest of Pakistan.

In the background of longstanding American domination and control over Pakistan’s internal and external affairs, most Pakistanis presently believe that President Musharraf is still the Americans’ blue-eyed boy in Pakistan. But in the last three years, Pakistan has actually started acting more independently. It has asserted its interest from those of the U.S. This changing stance of Pakistan is not liked by the U.S. Pakistan has also found a new importance for its stronger relations with the regional countries.

The changed behavior of Pakistan towards the U.S. and the region is not spontaneous and reactive. Actually Pakistan has learned from its long history of checkered relations with the U.S. and the region. It has found that Pakistan’s interests are better served through its strong relations with the regional countries. In the context of this learning, Pakistan has tacitly changed its policy towards the United Sates. Accordingly, the U.S. has changed its behavior substantially towards Pakistan during the last couple of years. As a result, the U.S. does not support President Musharaf in the same way it used to.

The changed U.S. stance is evident from the fact that for the last few months, it stopped payments to Pakistan on account of its military services to the U.S. The Americans do not like Pakistan’s preference for stronger relations with the region, which has adverse bearings on American interests.

International relations are greatly influenced by economic relations and the dependent mutual benefits. Pakistan has turned to the region and has leased Gwadar port to Singapore, which is under the greater influence of China. This act of Pakistan was not swallowed well by the U.S. The expensive and highly technical project Neelam-Jehlum Hydropower Project, with a construction tag of multibillion dollars, has been awarded to China recently. Such a project would have normally gone to a U.S. or an allied European company. This independent streak of the Pakistanis is not approved by the Americans and they wish to re-tame Pakistan.

Accordingly, the question arises; is it real that the U.S. would continue supporting President Musharraf. The answer is: definitely not.

Various surveys and observational impressions show that vast majority of the people in Pakistan do not like American interference and whoever sides with the U.S. is not liked by the public. Whenever a statement of support for President Musharraf appears in the media, it intensifies the adverse feelings of Pakistanis for Musharraf. This is a double game of the U.S. and our people must understand this complexity; otherwise this country will keep suffering at the hands of global politics. We must understand this and gain confidence in ourselves and our leaders. Our leaders and governmental managers are capable enough to act in favor of Pakistan. It is certain that Pakistan will be a strong and respectable country in a short span of a decade or little more.
Dr. Hafeez is a Professor & Director, Institute of Social & Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. He can be contacted at drmhafeez@wol.net.pk