| ID | 108881 |
| Title Proper | United States-Pakistan relations during the Musharraf regime |
| Other Title Information | US policies, strategies, and the outcomes |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Rahman, Mohammad Ashique |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | United States-Pakistan relations and devising appropriate policy responses surfaced as one of the most critical foreign policy challenges for the United States since late 2007. The heightened US concern followed the simmering growth of suicide terrorism and extremism in Pakistan as well as the unprecedented increase in al Qaeda and the Taliban attack on the US allied forces in Afghanistan staged from the "safe haven" of Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas. Scholars, analysts and the policymakers started to venture what is wrong with US-Pakistan relations. After the tragic event of 11 September 2001, the United States renewed its relationship with Pakistan, and declared it as an "indispensable ally" against the "global war on terror". It has also been incorporated as a "frontline state" in fighting the US-led war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Ironically, this post-11 September deep alliance between the US and Pakistan also coincided with the latest round of military dictatorship of General Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of US-Pakistan relations during the Musharraf regime might help us in explaining the problems that their bilateral relations are currently facing and may shed light in formulating future policies for Pakistan afresh. The present paper therefore, focuses on three aspects of the US-Pakistan relations during the Musharraf regime. First, it intends to assess United States' policy objectives during the Musharraf era. Obviously, fighting and eradicating terrorism and extremism was a dominant objective, but there were other objectives as well viz., Pakistan's and global security, nuclear non-proliferation, US's economic and strategic opportunities in South Asia, and democracy promotion in the Muslim world. Second, an attempt is made to analyse the strategies that were followed to pursue the objectives? Economic and security assistances are well-known strategies, but, was implicit support to Musharraf's military regime also a part of US strategy? If yes, what explains such strategy especially since it is contradictory to US's grand strategy of democracy promotion? And finally, what results were achieved by pursuing those policies in such particular way? Therefore, the paper would seek answers to such questions: Were the policies pursued by the US appropriate? Were the ways in which they were pursued the most effective way? Is the present situation in Pakistan an outcome of wrong policies or the wrong strategies? And what explains the lack of US' success? |
| `In' analytical Note | BIISS Journal Vol. 32, No. 2; Apr 2011: p.168-205 |
| Journal Source | BIISS Journal Vol. 32, No. 2; Apr 2011: p.168-205 |
| Key Words | US - Pakistan Relations ; Musharraf ; US Policies ; United States ; Pakistan ; Extremism ; Afghanistan ; Al Qaeda ; Afghanistan - Pakistan Border ; Global War on Terror ; Terrorism ; South Asia ; Global Security ; Nuclear Non - Proliferation |