Beyond web logs

According to reports, the US has put 11 outrageous demands to the government of Pakistan.
The 11 demands are as follows:
Granting of a status that is accorded to the technical and administrative staff of the US embassy;
These personnel be allowed to enter and exit Pakistan only by showing their national identification without any visas;
Pakistan accept the legality of all US licenses, for instance arms license; the US personnel be allowed to wear their uniforms and carry arms across the country;
The US criminal jurisdiction be applicable in Pakistan to US nationals so that they could not be tried according to Pakistani law;
Exemption from all taxes, including indirect taxes like excise duty, etc., for the US personnel;
Inspection-free import and export of all goods and materials; free movement of vehicles, vessels including aircraft, without landing or parking fees;
Selected US contractors should be exempted from tax payments; free of cost use of US telecommunication systems and using all necessary radio spectrum;
And lastly, waiver of all claims to damage to loss or destruction of others’ property, or death to personnel or armed forces or civilians. Though the Foreign Office and the Law Ministry have rejected these demands, the audacity of the US to present these demands show how Pakistan is regarded there: a subservient country that would bend under any pressure if the sole superpower so wishes.

By putting forward these demands, the US has clearly challenged Pakistan’s sovereignty and is treating it as a colony. Can the US ever think of putting forward these demands to any European country or other developed nations? Just because Pakistan became a US ally after the US threatened to ‘bomb it to the Stone Age’ does not necessarily mean that it can now get away with dictating anything and everything. The US has not done Pakistan any favour by giving it $ 10 billion in military aid since Pakistan became its ally in the war against terrorism, as it was mere acknowledgment of services provided by Pakistan’s army. In fact, there are reports that the US has withheld $ 70 million bill presented by Pakistan’s army in payment for the services rendered in the war on terrorism. Pakistan has not only given the US its bases, logistic support and shared intelligence with its forces in Afghanistan, our military has also suffered scores of casualties while combating terrorism on our side of the Durand Line, especially in the tribal areas. Due to the failure of the US forces and Nato troops in Afghanistan, the country that has suffered the most is Pakistan. There has been a huge spillover of militants from Afghanistan who have taken refuge in Pakistan’s tribal areas only because the US and Nato forces were unable to eliminate them. The perception that Pakistan is fighting the war against terrorism at the behest of the US has led to hundreds of terrorist attacks all over the country, including suicide bombings targeting our security forces. In the 1980s Pakistan had fought a proxy-war for the US and as soon as the US had achieved its agenda – withdrawal of the Russian troops from Afghanistan – it had left Pakistan in the lurch. The ramifications of that Afghan War are still being suffered by Pakistan in the form of Islamic militants, the supply of narcotics and arms, etc.

Already many US officials and presidential hopefuls have voiced that ‘direct action’ can be taken in Pakistan if there is any information about the presence of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders. It is high time that Pakistan took a firm stand against the US policies and not let the US dictate its terms to it.