The recent rescue of an American woman, her Canadian husband and their children by Pakistan Army was expected to ease relations between Pakistan and the United States. Caitlan Coleman, 31, and her husband Joshua Boyle, 33, had been in the captivity of terrorists since 2012 and their rescue prompted reaction from the United States that gave rise to hope in Pakistan that the Trump administration may reconsider its rather aggressive policy with regards to Pakistan. The Pakistan Army said it launched the rescue operation after a tip off from US intelligence that the family had been moved into the tribal areas from across the border in Afghanistan.
Soon after the family’s rescue US President Donald Trump in a message posted on Twitter had said that he had started to develop a much better relationship with Pakistan and its leaders and that he wanted to thank them (Pakistan) for their cooperation on many fronts. The Tweet was given immense importance in Pakistan with many analysts suggesting that the rescue will ease diplomatic tension between the two countries.
What many didn’t consider was a number of other statements by the US President in which he labeled the couple’s rescue as a sign of Pakistan government ‘doing more’ to honor America’s wish. Trump had added that it was a sign that Pakistan is ‘starting to respect’ the United States once more. The US has long accused Pakistan of being lenient on certain militant groups primarily the Haqqani network (the group believed to be behind the couple’s kidnapping). The released Boyle had praised the Pakistan Army for its efforts and for their release, similar sentiments were expressed by his parents who also thanked the Pakistan Army.
However after a passage of few days the short lived hope for improved Pakistan-US relations as a result of the rescue evaporated. First it was the CIA Director Mike Pompeo said that kidnapped couple was held inside Pakistan (contradicting Pakistan’s stance). Then came another blow with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying that he will pressure Islamabad to take action on the support Taliban and other “terrorist organisations” receive in the country. And if that was not enough the rescued Caitlan Coleman in a recent interview has claimed that she was in Pakistan for at least a year before she was rescued by Pakistan Army (once against disputing Pakistan’s claim that the couple was never held in captivity inside Pakistan).
The recent series of events clearly suggest that the Trump administration will keep the pressure up on Pakistan and chance of easing relations between the two countries in the immediate future is unlikely. Pakistan will also need to adopt a long term policy with regards to Afghanistan and the United States instead of ‘incident’ base policies.
