14 Mark Questions

Q1. How successful was Pakistan in its relationship with the USA between 1947 and 1999? Explain your answer.

Pakistan had to face both successes and failures in its relationship with the USA. During the 1962, Indo-China war,the US-supplied weapons and military aid to Inda to fight Communist China. However, as Pakistan and India were bitter enemies this was not liked by the Pakistani government.

After 1962, both China and the Soviet Union seemed keener to have Pakistan as an ally than the USA. Hence, when Ayub Khan visited China in 1962 and the Soviet Union in 1965, this displeased the USA as both China and USSR were Communist whereas the USA was strongly anti-communist. Therefore, this had a negative impact on relations. 

Furthermore, during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India, the USA joined Uk in an arms embargo on both countries. As Pakistan was almost entirely supplied and trained by the USA, the embargo caused great damage to Pakistan. Thus, demanding their relation. Even in 1971, the USA did not help Pakistan during the civil war in East Pakistan, even though they were on friendly terms. Hence, when Pakistan lost the war, it left SEATO and due to this, the relations worsened. 

In 1985, the Pressler Amendment stated that the USA would only give aid to the country which had no nuclear weapons and was not developing them. During the Afghan crisis, this was ignored but when the war ended, President Bush refused to declare Pakistan nuclear-free and locked aid to the country. Pakistan bitterly complained that India too was developing nuclear weapons but was still being given aid. The USA ignored Pakistan and relations further deteriorated. Moreover, as Pakistan was becoming a major center for the distribution of illegal drugs and home to weapon production, by 1992, the USA came close to declaring Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism and placed economic sanctions on the country. Further, economic losses faced by Pakistan added to their resentment against the USA. 

Despite, these failures, however, there were some successes as well. In 1950, Liaqat Ali Khan was invited to Moscow by USSR and Washington by the US. Liaqat Ali Khan, however, chose to visit the USA, which improved relations as Pakistan had clearly favored the US over USSR. In 1954, Pakistan also entered SEATO, an organization designed to resist the expansion of the Communist USSR and as the USA itself was part of this organization, the relations improved.  In 1995, Pakistan also joined CENTO, which too was an anti-communist alliance against the Soviet Union. Though the USA was not part of the organization, it still supported their cause against the USSR leading to healthier relations.

In 1979, when USSR invaded Afghanistan, the US gave maximum aid to Pakistan to fight against the Soviet Union. Throughout, the 1980s, Pakistan received huge amounts of aid, for example, in 1986, an aid program providing $4.2 billion was signed. This made Pakistan the third-largest recipient of American aid and improved relations to a great extent. In 1995, the Brown Amendment was also passed in which the Pressler Amendment was revoked, and instead, Pakistan received the F-16s and also $388 million in military equipment This was a turning point and a huge success. The relations were further highlighted when First Lady, Hilary Clinton, and her daughter, Chelsea visited Pakistan in 1996. 

In my opinion, Pakistan has been overall significantly successful in its relations with the USA. Though both had to face some failures, altogether the successes outweigh the failures