U.S. military trainers will be invited
back into Pakistan "as early as April or May," but the nation has ruled
out allowing CIA drones back into the country, Fox News has learned.
Relations between the two nations have been at an all-time low since 24
Pakistani soldiers were killed in an inadvertent aerial attack by NATO
in November.
The Pakistani parliament is reviewing the nature of its relationship
with the U.S., and politicians are expected on Jan. 30 to deliver a list
of conditions for cooperation to resume.
The stipulations will include no covert CIA or military operations on
the ground in Pakistan, and no unauthorized incursions into its
airspace. Drones, which are the CIA's biggest weapon against militants
hiding in the tribal belt dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan, "can never
return," a senior Pakistani official told Fox News.
"They will never be allowed back, at Shamsi or anywhere else," the
official added, referring to the base in the country's southwest from
which many of the unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed before the NATO
attack in November.
In return, Pakistan would allow back U.S. military trainers, including
special forces teams, and a resumption of close cooperation with the CIA
in targeting militants who use the Pakistani side of the border as a
safe haven and breeding ground for extremism. It would also reopen the
Torkham and Chaman border crossings into Afghanistan, which have been
closed to NATO supply convoys since the attack.
"After this is presented to the Americans, a lot could happen very
quickly," the senior official told Fox News, speaking on the condition
of anonymity.
Islamabad also would reopen its doors to high-level U.S. diplomats after
an embarrassing snub this week to President Obama's special envoy to the
region, Marc Grossman, who was denied his request to visit Pakistan in
the middle of his tour of South Asia.
Pakistan says it wants working conditions with Washington that provide
"respect for the nation, its sovereignty -- both its soil and airspace
-- and equal terms of cooperation." Government members have said
publicly that there has never been equality in the relationship.
"We understand the government of Pakistan is still working on its review
of U.S.-Pakistan relations, and we have not yet received a formal report
from the government,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby said in an
emailed statement. “Decisions about the level of Pakistani commitment to
our military relationship are obviously theirs to make, and we respect
that.
"We continue to desire a close military relationship with Pakistan. ...
We both have a fundamental interest in cooperation, in eliminating Al
Qaeda's ability to operate from Pakistan, and in ensuring a stable
Afghanistan and stable region."
Pakistan, especially its military, has been reeling since U.S. forces
killed Usama Bin Laden in a raid in May. The raid, which sparked
nationwide protests and stoked further anti-Americanism, and civilian
casualties caused by drone attacks are considered by Pakistan to be
flagrant violations of its sovereignty by an "arrogant" American
government.
Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said this week that ties
"are on hold until we start re-engaging," but Pakistan is now motivated
by the U.S. elections to move forward swiftly in rebuilding trust
between the countries. Islamabad fears that if foundation stones are not
laid before presidential campaigning begins in earnest in the summer, it
will not be able to renegotiate with Washington until the middle of next
year.
But the senior official suggested there might be a benefit to waiting.
"We would prefer it if there was a Republican government again,” he
said. “Pakistan has always done well with the Republicans. Historically,
over the decades, we have always had difficulty doing business with the
Democrats."
The George W. Bush administration threw billions of dollars at Pakistan
to fight Islamist extremists in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, when Pakistan was under the rule of the military dictator
Pervez Musharraf. President Bush is said to have convinced Musharraf to
leave office, allowing the country to become a democratic state, albeit
a highly unstable one ever since.
Under the Obama administration, "we have been getting mixed signals from
State, the Pentagon and the CIA,” the official said. “None are on the
same page. They do not know how to deal with us, which makes it
difficult for us to deal with America." He said that dealings over the
past year with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been "warmest
[out of three] and friendly and she genuinely sympathized with the
Pakistanis and reached out to the people."
But a gradual erosion of trust between Islamabad and Washington, brought
about violence that Pakistan blames on the U.S. and by intransigence by
the Pakistani security apparatus to wipe out key militants, has brought
the relationship to a bitter impasse.
Congress has stalled much of the $2 billion Pakistan receives annually
from the U.S. in civil and military aid, and Pakistan will struggle
without its full resumption.
Next month it is due to repay $1.2 billion interest on a $7.6 billion
loan from the International Monetary Fund, which was deferred from last
year. The government is expected to delay yet again amid a failed
economy and poor foreign revenues.
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