The United States and Pakistan, 1947-2006: A Documentary Study

This most comprehensive and up-to-date documentary study traces the evolution and course of political, economic/trade, military/defence and nuclear dimensions of US relations with Pakistan from 1947 to 2006. This volume discusses how Pakistan became the most allied ally of the United States during the Cold War and received substantial economic and military assistance. The study examines the cooling off of their relations in the early 1960s, the Nixon Administration’s "tilt" towards Pakistan during the 1971 war, the lifting of the embargo (1975), the imposition of sanctions in April 1977 and again in April 1979. Notwithstanding the differences over the nuclear issue, Washington rediscovered Pakistan’s strategic importance in the wake of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, offered economic and military aid packages of $3.2 billion and $4.2 billion in the 1980s, and emerged as Pakistan’s largest trading partner and a major source of foreign investment. The volume deals with the factors leading to a marked deterioration in US-Pak relations in the 1990s, including the imposition of sanctions following Pakistan’s nuclear tests (1998), the changed American Stance on the Kashmir question and its role during the Kargil crisis (1999), criticism of Musharraf’s military coup and A.Q. Khan’s nuclear proliferation activities. However, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks led to an improvement of relations, which was reflected in the writing off of $1.7 billion debt owed by Pakistan and US commitment of $3 billion assistance during 2004-2009. This study contains a judicious selection of 691 basic documents from official sources, including Congressional hearing and provides the full texts or extracts from various agreements, joint communiques and statements and interviews by Government dignitaries. This book will prove to be an indispensable reference work for students and scholars of political science, international relations, South Asian studies and US foreign policy.