By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Noting that Pakistan deliberately uses terrorism against India, a US scholar has advocated stronger ties with New Delhi and asking Islamabad to start cooperating or lose its aid and face outright isolation.
Pakistan’s behaviour and its policies are a fully rational response to its leaders conception of the country’s national interest, especially those in the military, Stephen D. Krasner, former US director of policy planning at the State department wrote in the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs magazine.
“Pakistan’s fundamental goal is to defend itself against its rival, India. Islamabad deliberately uses nuclear proliferation and deterrence, terrorism, and its prickly relationship with the United States to achieve this objective,” Krasner, currently professor of international relations at Stanford University said.
“Pakistan’s nuclear strategy is to project a credible threat of first use against India. The country has a growing nuclear arsenal, a stockpile of short-range missiles to carry warheads, and plans for rapid weapons dispersion should India invade,” he said.
So far, the strategy has worked, Krasner said noting that although Pakistan has supported numerous attacks on Indian soil, India has not retaliated.
Transnational terrorism, Pakistanis believe, has also served to constrain and humiliate India, he said noting that as early as the 1960s, Pakistani strategists concluded that terrorism could help offset India’s superior conventional military strength.
Pakistan’s double game with the US has been effective, too, Krasner said suggesting that the only way the US can actually get what it wants out of Pakistan is to make credible threats to retaliate if Pakistan does not comply with US demands and offer rewards only in return for cooperative actions taken.
“Malign neglect would mean ending all US assistance, military and civilian; severing intelligence cooperation; continuing and possibly escalating US drone strikes; initiating cross-border special operations raids; and strengthening US ties with India,” he said.
Active isolation would include, in addition, declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, imposing sanctions, and pressuring China and Saudi Arabia to cut off their support, as well, Krasner said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])