Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani, center front,

with U.S. General John Allen to his left, Afghan Army Chief General Sher

Muhammad Karimi to Kayani’s right, and other commanders after a

meeting a few days ago in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Pakistanis will React Badly to Reopening NATO’s Supply Routes (The Nation, Pakistan)

“Not only has its sovereignty been repeatedly violated, but its soldiers have lost their lives in an unprovoked attack by NATO helicopters. It is simply ungracious of the strong to insist on continuing with their drone attacks - a source of constant humiliation and affront to a sovereign state – while also refusing to tender an apology for causing the deaths of these soldiers.”

EDITORIAL

May 15, 2012

Pakistan - The Nation - Original Article (English)

On Sunday, military commanders from Pakistan, Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO emerged upbeat from a meeting on resuming NATO supply lines through Pakistan, and Foreign Minister Khar left little doubt that a decision favoring reopening the route had been taken. To paraphrase her words, “the time has come to let these supplies through.”

Khar said the route had been blocked to register protest at the death of 24 Pakistan soldiers during the attack on Salala, as we could not have remained silent over the incident. The supply channel, she said, had to be reopened sooner or later. After all, Pakistan would not like to incur the ire of the 48 countries operating in Afghanistan under the NATO umbrella. She added that if the decision were not taken, Pakistan would have problems, and that the issue had come up during Prime Minister Gilani’s meeting with his counterpart Davis Cameron in Britain. In addition, the British foreign minister will arrive in Islamabad next month.

On the face of it, Ms. Khar has made a plausible case for reopening NATO’s supply channel. Viewed in light of pragmatic politics, it is hard to argue for remaining at cross-purposes with the superpower and a host of other powerful nations for long. And on an issue that is as sensitive as the well being of their soldiers in a hostile situation, Pakistan must carefully evaluate the consequences of an attitude that is bound to go down badly with them.

Apart from that, we have been wholeheartedly cooperating in the war on terror, albeit against the wishes of a majority of the population, and now that they want to withdraw their forces, denying this transit facility would look odd.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

But that is just one side of the story. Pakistan’s case isn’t a weak one. Not only has its sovereignty been repeatedly violated, but its soldiers have lost their lives in an unprovoked attack by NATO helicopters. It is simply ungracious of the strong to insist on continuing with their drone attacks - a source of constant humiliation and affront to a sovereign state – while also refusing to tender an apology for causing the deaths of these soldiers.

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Le Monde, France: Pakistan and America: Preparing for a Timely ‘Divorce’

Frontier Post, Pakistan: Whistleblower Unravels America’s Afghan ‘Hoax’
FARS News, Iran: Revolutionary Guards Display Downed American Drone
La Jornada, Mexico: Senators and U.S. Drones: What Else are They Hiding?
The Nation, Pakistan: Downing American Drones: Iran Shows Pakistan the Way
The Nation, Pakistan: Time for Pakistan to Down America's 'Bionic Dragons'
The Nation, Pakistan: Cost of Friendship with America is Far Too High
The Nation, Pakistan: 'Sorry' Won't Wash Away NATO Crimes in Pakistan
The Daily Jang, Pakistan: Is Washington Behind Pakistan's 'Memogate'?
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: U.S. Withdrawal Plans 'Spell Doom' for Pakistan

The temptation of being invited to the Chicago [NATO] summit and the release of $1.18 billion due Pakistan should not suffice for us to give up our legitimate position. Our envoys should apprise the U.S. of the backlash of lifting restrictions on the transit of NATO supplies, both in terms of resistance to the move and anger that the Pakistan government must face from huge numbers of committed activists for compromising national honor and interests.

On that score, they should tell the United States that accepting our demands would help defuse the situation and at least cool the tempers that flare every time a drone strikes. But the government - and from yesterday's picture of General Kayani standing beside his American and Afghan partners, one can safely assume the military as well - is bent upon reopening the supply route, despite America’s refusal of our demands. This will invite public ridicule and bring even more disillusion upon themselves and their effectiveness.