US-Pak ties sour over the Haqqani network - Atasi Das

Introduction
Geo political relations are increasingly being dictated by changing geo-economic paradigms. The latest in the news is the US Pak face-off over the Haqqani network. The Haqqani network has a 30-year long history as a guerrilla force. They are accused of running protection rackets, smuggling gemstones, and carrying out kidnappings for money. The Haqqanis have been blamed for a series of deadly attacks in Kabul in recent times, including the assassination of the former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was overseeing the Taliban peace talks. The Haqqani network meanwhile has denied killing Burhanuddin Rabbani.

In the wake of the Rabbani assassination President Karzai seems to have put a bar on coming to negotiations with the militants directly, preferring a direct talk with Pakistan instead. The Afghan government believes that the ISI is indeed waging a proxy war on its soil, using groups like the Haqqanis. Pakistan has alleged that the Taliban and Haqqani Network are creation of international spy agencies designed to malign the image of Pakistan.

More about the Haqqani Network
The Haqqani Network headed by the father son duo of Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani  and Sirajuddin Haqqani is an Afghanistan based insurgent group, which is  a close ally of the Taliban. The US military intelligence terms it as "the most resilient enemy network” and arguably the biggest threat to NATO and the United States forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan has refuted the US accusation that the Haqqani Network receives logistical support from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Pakistan has counter alleged that the Haqqani Network is the handiwork of the Central Intelligence Agency trained by the US to fight the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

The US reaction
The US has alleged that Pakistan has accorded mere lip service to US concerns and in reality has done little to uproot the Haqqanis from the North Waziristan tribal region, where they are reportedly headquartered now.

CIA airstrikes near the Haqqani headquarters in the North Waziristan capital of Miranshah, Pakistan, have already claimed 7 lives till mid October. The attacks, carried out despite the obvious risk of high civilian casualty in an urban area, is a pointer to the tough stance taken by the US on the issue of safe havens being provided by Pakistan to the global terrorist networks. The developments have obvious ramifications for India, who has had a prolonged tryst with cross border terrorism. Pakistan intelligence officials have confirmed that some of the slain militants belonged to the group led by Maulvi Nazir, accused of working with the Taliban and the al-Qaeda to direct cross-border terror attacks in Afghanistan. In an apparent extension of the olive branch, the US has kept open its doors to more intensive negotiations with the Haqqani group and other Afghan insurgent groups to find an amicable solution to the problem.

Major international conferences on the war are scheduled for November 2 in Istanbul and December 5 in Bonn, Germany where the US will apparently leverage the international fora to gain support for its efforts at establishing a politically acceptable democratic regime in Afghanistan, within the military timeline adopted by Nato. The US stand has kept the world guessing on its forthcoming assistance programme for Pakistan since the two countries continue to be at loggerheads on the Afghanistan issue.

President Obama seems to have lost faith in Pakistan and its weak civilian leadership. His core goal is reportedly the elimination of the Pakistan-based al-Qaeda. The European partners have reportedly been briefed by the US that though its Pakistan policy will see some fine tuning and sharpness; there will be no “dramatic policy change”.  The Pakistan government feels that there is considerable divergence of political opinion on the Afghanistan issue within the US itself. The US-Pak face-off could also have interesting ramifications for the arms trade and military aid channel between the countries.

Conclusion
It is unclear as to what Pakistan is offering to the US as an alternative to a military operation in order to deal with the Haqqanis. Pakistan is reportedly wary of the possible implications of the recent strategic partnership signed between Afghanistan and India. The Pak military has voiced its concerns over the allegations by senior Afghan officials that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in the assassination of former Afghan president Bhurhanuddin Rabbani. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter met with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to sort out differences between the two countries at the diplomatic front.

To sum up, the US and Paksitan has always shared a volatile relationship and the Haqqani network has once again brought to the forefront the conflicting priorities of the two countries. Pakistan has asked US to make up its mind on its chosen path of action; apparently simultaneous peace talks and military operations will not be fruitful for breaking the Afghan deadlock.