Pakistan Prime Minister’s US visit damp squib
It is no wonder that Pakistani's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has gained little from his visit to the United States. Islamabad does not enjoy great credibility with the US administration for a variety of reasons, primary among them being its double-faced approach to fighting terror and its recent boast of developing small nuclear weapons to instantly counter supposed Indian aggression. Compared to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's highly successful visit and the rapport he struck with President Barack Obama, Mr Sharif's trip pales into comparison, and more so because the chemistry simply does not exist between Mr Obama and Mr Sharif. The Pakistani Prime Minister failed to get US support for his demand of mediation in the Kashmir issue; he could not get the host nation to acknowledge his accusation of Indian interference in Balochistan; he received no promise on the civil nuclear deal on the lines that exists between India and the US; and he received virtually nothing in terms of commitment to US investments in Pakistan. All that he gained was an assurance of eight F-16 fighter aircraft. Even these are four-decade old planes earlier rejected by India. Moreover, the supply cannot happen without a clearance by the Congress. The Economist pithily described Mr Sharif as a “diminished leader of a disgraced ally”. Mr Sharif's ‘dossier' containing alleged Indian role in fomenting trouble in Balochistan and “other parts of Pakistan” received short shrift from the Obama Administration. On the contrary, the Pakistani Prime Minister had trouble explaining Pakistan's credentials as a frontline state combating terror in all forms, and he had to assure that his country would take “effective action against UN-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including lashkar-e-Tayyeba”. But, given Islamabad's track record, it is unlikely that the Sharif regime will keep that promise.
In any case, regardless of how Pakistan's relationship with the US pans out, New Delhi must be on alert following claims Pakistan has been making on developing and stockpiling smaller nuclear arms to take on India's ‘Cold Start' doctrine. Its Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary spilled the beans when he said that Islamabad was working on plans to use low-yield, or ‘tactical', nuclear weapons to prevent an Indian advance. It must be remembered that, unlike India, Pakistan has not committed itself to a ‘no-first-use' assurance. It is important to underline what a nuclear expert, Pervez Hoodbhoy, is reported to have said: “The smaller they (the countries) are, the more tempting it becomes to use them (nuclear weapons) against a conventional force.” He added, in the Pakistan context, that nuclear weapons are being seen not as deterrents to war but as weapons to fight a war. There is no reason for New Delhi to get hyperactive over the revelation, since it can effectively meet any Pakistani nuclear threat. It must call the bluff at the appropriate time.