Out of Necessity

Posted: March 29th, 2016

By Eileen O`Connor

Eileen O'Connor is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia and senior adviser to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, from May 2011 to October 2015, overseeing strategic communications and public diplomacy programs focused on strengthening civil society, the role of women, countering violent extremism, improving education, and increasing the role of independent media. A former award winning war zone correspondent, she has covered the region since the mid-1980's, later working as an attorney specializing in legal crisis management.

One word sums up U.S.-Pakistan relationship: necessity. The United States and the world have seen the instability that resulted from non-engagement in the 1990’s: Afghanistan became a safe haven for terrorist groups from which to plan the attacks on 9/11 and Pakistan became a nuclear power in the region.

Pakistan is still not the most reliable partner. Over the course of the last nine years the United States has been increasingly successful by using candor, diplomacy, and financial incentives to convince Pakistan it is in its interests, as well as the regions , to focus on stability and economic growth.

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