US-Pakistan Relations during 21st Century: An Expository Analysis

Abstract

The Pakistan-US relationship has undergone significant changes over the years chiefly influenced by mutual strategic interests of both countries and global compulsions. It goes without saying that, albeit a brief interval of democratic interactions and congressional sanctions witnessed during 1990s, both partners jointly remained involved in sensitive operations and activities right from the start of the Cold War which later expanded to War against Terrorism of 21st century. Afterwards, the Indian penetration into Afghan soil under the US patronage established that the US-Pakistan alliance had been eclipsed by a lack of trust sometimes even leading to the US accusation of following double standards by the decision-makers in Pakistan. Accordingly, scholars believe that the USPakistan collaboration primarily in the aftermath of 9/11 incident has been a topic of great concern to dig out and understand the actual course of contemporary geostrategic developments taking place in this highly volatile region. With this background, the instant study examines the US-Pakistan relations in the backdrop of War against Terrorism while particularly focusing upon some critical developments of the second decade of 21st century including Abbottabad Operation of 2011, Raymond Davis Case, Salala Incident and the matter of Drone strikes within the territorial limits of the sovereign state of Pakistan. It finds that despite investing huge sums, the long-term regional stability could not be materialized by the US administration because of ignoring the need for taking some deep-rooted nation-building measures in Afghanistan whereas the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan highlighted the need for Pakistan to reevaluate its strategy as political instability, economic challenges, and terrorism still continue to hit Pakistan harder than any of the other regional country.