Welcome, Ms. Wendy Sherman!

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is scheduled to visit Pakistan on 7-8 October. Her visit is very important at this critical moment, the first high-level visit after the Afghan debacles. She is scheduled to meet her counterpart and senior leadership of the country. The visit will provide a broad range of agenda, including the post-withdrawal era of Afghanistan, regional issues, especially the Kashmir issue, and Indian human rights violations.

The US was among the first few countries which recognized Pakistan just after its independence in 1947. Since then, the journey of friendship embarked on. Both the countries signed several agreements for cooperation in various fields, including defence. Pakistan was a signatory of the CENTO and the SEATO, Baghdad Pact, Manila Pact, etc. The Pak-U.S. bilateral relations kept on improving and Pakistan became a close partner in the cold war era against the communism threat. Pakistan was a frontline U.S. ally during the USSR's occupation of Afghanistan. Pakistan was a partner as well as a non-NATO ally in the war on terror. As long as Pakistan was on par with the U.S., Pakistan went extra miles to protect American interests in the region, assuring that the US would achieve all strategic goals in this part of the world.
As time went by a decade later, the US shifted its policy tilt toward India and that was perhaps to enable India to counter China. However, the Indians used all U.S. assistance against Pakistan. Knowingly, the U.S. kept its eyes closed over the fact that India was harming Pakistan. The U.S. ditched Pakistan’s national interests and favored India blindly, creating ill-feelings and breaking down trust for a common Pakistani citizen.

Fraught with mistrust and conflict of interest, the relations between Pakistan and the U.S., the two traditional friends, suffered a lot. With regard to China, Pakistan has been keeping close friendly relations with China since the country's beginning. Even when the U.S. imposed sanctions and economic blockade of China in the 1950s, Pakistan managed to have good relations with China and even, Pakistan brokered to establish diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. Chinese value its loyal friends like Pakistan and the role it had played to bridge between China and the U.S. In fact, China has had nothing to do with the Pakistan-America relationship.

However, offering undue favors to India at the cost of undermining Pakistan’s security and economic interests is rather a big question. Regarding Afghanistan, Pakistan emerged as a partner with the US in the 1980s, as well as in 2001. Pakistan’s role was recognized by the American leadership, particularly the military leadership. On the American request, Pakistan brought the Taliban to the negotiating table but was not involved in the negotiation process. The Peace deal between the US and the Taliban was reached without Pakistan's direct intervention. Pakistan assisted the evacuation of the US forces and other foreigners, including some Afghans to leave Afghanistan safely. Pakistan's role in the evacuation was praised by many leaders, including from the US and Europe.

It is expected that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman's recent visit will bring in good news for both the nations. She is a mature diplomat and understands the region very well. She has visited China recently and knows the dynamics of the whole region. It is desired that she will understand Pakistan’s situation, will convince the US administration to normalize the relations and restore the traditional friendship between the two countries, considering Pakistan’s interest and security issues.

Pakistan gives her a warm welcome and hopes that she will play a pivotal role in changing the coercive diplomacy of Washington, ruled by unfair sanctions and punitive measures. We wish that she will play a positive role in restoring the close partnership between the two nations.

The US and Pakistan jointly have the potential to change the geopolitics of this region. To bring in peace, stability, and development, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, on several occasions, has expressed his desire to be a partner with any country, including the US. Pakistan cannot afford more wars, destruction or foreign invasions, and will not be a partner with any nation in such destructive acts.

Based on our common goals, which is peace, stability, and development, there exists a huge space for cooperation and collaboration between the U.S. and Pakistan. We strongly hope that she will understand Pakistan's needs and vision and could convince Washington to shift its gear in Pakistan's favour.