India May Snivel, But US F-16 Sale to Pak in its Self-Interest

America’s sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan is tied to seeking the latter’s help in the Afghan talks, by Seema Guha.

Old habits die hard. India’s knee-jerk reaction to any American sale of defence equipment to Pakistan has not changed over the years. Whether it is a Congress or BJP government the inevitable response kicks in: lodge a formal protest. New Delhi’s complaints have always fallen on deaf ears. If such protests had worked, perhaps it would justify India’s course of action, but unfortunately, they don’t have much impact.

This time around when news first came in (12 February) that the Obama administration was planning to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, the US ambassador Richard Verma was called in by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. India expressed its apprehension that these planes will not be used to fight terrorists but, as has happened in the past, they will be used against India. That could be true as well, but it is not something Washington is unaware of.

Pakistan Crucial for Peace Talks

Pakistan is out of the dog-house ever since the bulk of the US and NATO troops left Afghanistan at the end of 2014. The fact is that the US is cosying up to General Raheel Sharif and the Pakistan military due to its own self-interest.

Pakistan’s intervention is sorely needed to get the Taliban to sit down for talks with the Afghan government in an effort to stop the bloodshed in that hapless country and smooth the way for an inevitable power sharing arrangement.

Pakistan’s forces know the Taliban well and can cajole them into joining the quadrilateral negotiations. The US, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China are all engaged in the effort. But without the Pakistan military, and its powerful spy agency, the ISI, co-operating in the effort, it would be difficult for any conversation to take place.

Business As Usual

• India’s apprehension regarding the sale of F-16 aircraft by US to Pakistan has not really had any impact on the deal so far.
  
• US is cosying up to General Raheel Sharif and the Pakistan military due to its own self-interest.
  
• US is aware of the fact that the Pakistan military, and its spy agency ISI will be key players in talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
  
• Islamabad is also keen to have a pro-Pakistan and anti-India regime installed in Kabul when the Taliban comes to power.
  
• Making a noise over the sale makes little sense at the moment as the South Block knows that the US has its own compulsions.
  

ISI Understands The Taliban Well

The Americans are in touch with the Taliban but are aware only as much as the group wants to reveal. But Pakistan’s spy agency has the entire low-down on the group and cannot be misled as they know all important members of various factions. After all, it was the ISI with the backing of the military top brass that built up the Talibs and got them to sort out the infighting between the various Mujahideen groups after the Soviet troops withdrew.

The Taliban attended the first round of talks, but days before the second meeting news of Mullah Omar’s death two years ago led to a fresh crisis. The fight to take on the mantle of the one-eyed Mullah led to suspension of talks. Since then two more meetings of the “quad’’ has taken place without the Taliban attending. Pakistan is promising to get them to the table.

Compulsions of the US

Meanwhile, the Taliban has been steadily gaining ground in Afghanistan, with more territory under its control today than at any time since 2001, when American troops threw them out of Kabul. Suicide bombers have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan, hitting targets across the country and even in the well-guarded capital. The idea is to come to the table and negotiate from a position of strength. This suits the Pakistan army, long obsessed with gaining “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. A strong Taliban would put them in a better position to bargain  with the government of President Ashraf Ghani,  and give them a larger share in the future political arrangement in the country.

Islamabad is keen to have a pro-Pakistan and anti-India regime installed in Kabul when the Taliban comes to power in the near future. All this is work in progress. Pakistan is in a superior position, when its good offices are needed for stability in Afghanistan. Obama is desperate to ensure a reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban before leaving office. He would not wish to repeat the mistake of former US administrations, which left Afghanistan in a mess after the Soviet soldiers left the country.

New Delhi is well aware of this and realises why exactly the Americans do not wish to deny Pakistan the F-16s its military needs. Making a noise over the sale makes little sense at the moment  as South Block knows that the US has its own compulsions. The fact that some Republican senators are against the sale is part of America’s domestic politics, where the Republicans are bent on blocking every move the Obama administration makes. India should stop behaving like a petulant child.

Besides, such nagging does not go well with the image of a country which has ambitions of big power status. Whining over F-16 sale to Pakistan is a throwback to the times when India was not looking for a spot in the world’s high table but was happy to lead the anti-colonial and non-aligned movement.

(The writer is a Delhi-based freelance journalist.)

Also read:

Afghan Peace Talks: Will India Consider Opening Up With Taliban?