Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in a recent statement has said that US is a “selfish friend” that always curried favour with Pakistan when self-interest pressed it and left it in the lurch after having its interests served.
He was of the view that increasing Indo-US relations indeed a cause of concern for Pakistan. He said that US tilt towards India would disturb strategic balance of the region. He said that on the one hand US could not bring peace in war hit Afghanistan but on the other it keeps asking Pakistan to do the difficult job in the shortest possible time. He said that US drone strike in Balochistan which killed Afghan Taliban leader not only violated the Pakistani sovereignty but also damaged the level of trust between Pakistan and US.
Failure to seal the F-16 deal with US also reflects the decline in bilateral relations. Pakistan, which expected to get the fighters at the subsidised rate of $270 million, was asked by the US to make the full payment for the eight aircraft from its national resources.
During a long history of US-Pakistan strategic relations, it is evident that after achieving the desired objectives US turned a blind eye towards Pakistan. We have witnessed it after disintegration of USSR that US left Pakistan on its own to deal with its issues, now after being ally of US in war against terror history is being repeated by US. Pakistan is in dire need to enhance its diplomatic efforts at a time when India is trying best to isolate Pakistan in the region.
Indeed there are no permanent friends and enemies in international relations.
