OP-ED: A Fresh Tack on Pakistan (Times of INDIA)

Going by defiant statements from Islamabad that it will review its options vis-a-vis Washington if the Obama administration doesn't adopt a
positive policy towards it, it has clearly been rattled by the Obama administration's plans to rejig American policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan. Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has gone to the extent of flashing a China card against India and the United States by asserting that Beijing would come to its aid if necessary.

The new US approach includes inducting 30,000 more American troops into Afghanistan, building an alternative route to supply them that passes through Russia and Central Asia instead of Pakistan, and pouring in non-military aid to Pakistan which will be tied to better performance in the war against terror. It's hard to see what's objectionable about this package. If the Americans are pouring in billions of dollars into Pakistan, it's legitimate to expect that Pakistan should, in return, cease to provide sanctuary to armed militants who cross the border into Afghanistan and attack NATO and Afghan troops there, not to mention terror groups which have targets all over the world. Neither has Islamabad done a good job of keeping the supply route that passes through western Pakistan open, as hundreds of NATO trucks have been burnt along this route. If the US doubles its troops in Afghanistan, it can't be expected to keep their sole supply route hostage to closure by the Taliban.

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