Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistani
and US officials are continuing to meet and cooperate "at all levels",
despite the suspension of $1.1bn in US aid and amid fiery statements by
political leaders declaring the end of Islamabad's alliance with
Washington, diplomats told Al Jazeera.
"There is no freeze [in relations]," said a senior
Pakistani foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We are speaking to each other, at all levels. We are not sharing the
details of that at this time, but the effort to find some common ground
or traction on both sides is there."
A US State Department official, also speaking on
condition of anonymity, confirmed that talks between the two sides were
"ongoing".
A high level visit by a senior US diplomat to the Pakistani capital
is expected in the coming week, with talks on moving an increasingly
troubled relationship forward.
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On Friday, Pakistan's powerful military, which has ruled the country
for roughly half of its 70-year history, confirmed that Army Chief
General Qamar Javed Bajwa had spoken with US CENTCOM military commander
General Joseph Votel twice in the last week, as well to an unnamed US
senator.
A day earlier, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed the
two sides were "continu[ing] to communicate with each other on various
issues of mutual interest at different levels".
The diplomatic and military contacts are at odds with public statements made by both Pakistani and US leaders.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir claimed
that Pakistan had suspended all military and intelligence cooperation
with the United States, a claim the US State department denied, and
which seems to be at odds with General Bajwa's contact with the US
CENTCOM chief.
"We have received no notification regarding a suspension in defence
and intelligence cooperation," said Richard Snelsire, the spokesperson
for the US embassy in Islamabad.
Last week, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif declared that an alliance with the United States was "over",
after US President Donald Trump suspended $1.1bn in aid and accused
Pakistan of harbouring armed groups that fight US forces in neighbouring
Afghanistan.
The foreign ministry appeared on Friday to publicly back down from that position.
"The remarks of the foreign minister need to be seen in the proper
perspective," said Muhammad Faisal, the ministry's spokesperson. "The
foreign minister was expressing his frustration at the unwarranted US
accusations against Pakistan and the unilateral decision to suspend the
security assistance, despite Pakistan's extraordinary sacrifices and
contribution in the war against terrorism."
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The US has long accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to members
of the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network armed groups, which US and
Afghan forces have been fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan for 17
years.
In 2016, then Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone attack while travelling under a false identity in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.
Pakistan denies that it harbours members of either group, saying it
has acted effectively against all armed groups on its territory. It
accuses the US and Afghanistan of not doing enough to eliminate safe
havens for the Pakistan Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.
The latest tensions in the relationship began on January 1, when US President Trump tweetedthat the US had "foolishly" given Pakistan $33bn in aid over 15 years.
"[Pakistan has] given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of
our leaders as fools," he said. "They give safe haven to the terrorists
we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help."
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Pakistan vehemently denied the allegations, with the National
Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi,
declaring the accusation "completely incomprehensible" at the time.
Since 2001, the United States has, in fact, given Pakistan $14.79bn in military and security aid, according to US government data.
It has also reimbursed roughly $14.57bn to the Pakistani military
under Coalition Support Funds (CSF), a fund created to reimburse US
allies for operations taken in aid of US objectives.
On January 4, the US confirmed that it was suspending all security assistance
to Pakistan "until the Pakistani government takes decisive action
against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network".
The aid cut includes $255m in direct military aid, as well as a further $900m in reimbursements to the Pakistani military that have now been suspended.
In talks with Pakistani officials since the suspension, US diplomats
and others have communicated specific demands, said the senior Pakistani
diplomat.
"We are discussing some very concrete steps," he said, but declined to specify them, given the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Aid cut 'unlikely to work'
Analysts say the aid cut is unlikely to have a major effect on Pakistan's policy in the region.
"Aid cuts are nothing new in the US-Pakistan relationship," said
Michael Kugelman, deputy director at the US-based Woodrow Wilson Center
think-tank. "They've happened various times before, and in all cases
Pakistan's behavior didn't change."
Kugelman believes the aid suspension has been "a long time coming",
given the Trump administration's raised rhetoric against Pakistan since
the announcement of a new South Asia and Afghanistan policy last August,
but that it is unlikely to change Pakistan's rationale for allegedly
backing groups such as the Haqqani network or the Afghan Taliban.
"For Pakistan, maintaining ties to these groups, […] which are
virulently anti-Indian, pushes back against the presence of Pakistan's
bitter Indian foe in Afghanistan," he said.
"Second, these groups are a useful hedge to Pakistan against the
eventual withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. When that withdrawal
happens- and it will one day- Afghanistan could experience rampant
destabilisation, and Pakistan will want to retain ties to the most
powerful non-state actors in Afghanistan."
