American's bid to set off a bomb in New York and the re-emergence of a Pakistani Taliban leader threatening attacks in the United States has thrown the spotlight on US-Pakistani security relations. Ties between the old allies have at times been dogged by a “trust deficit” over the years since Pakistan threw its support behind the US-led campaign against militancy in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on US cities. But relations have improved over the past year largely because of sustained Pakistani efforts to fight militants on its side of the Afghan border. Following are some questions and answers on the Pakistani-US relationship and the implications of developments over recent days. Will the failed Times Square bomb bring US pressure? Yes, to an extent. The bomber, Faisal Shahzad, 30, who was born in Pakistan and became a US citizen last year, had contacts with militants in Pakistan. Investigators are determining the nature of those contacts, but Shahzad's bid to set off a car-bomb in Times Square was another reminder, if one were needed, of the dangers posed by a complex web of militant factions emanating from lawless ethnic Pashtun regions on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. But Pakistan has not been neglecting that danger. Over the past year the armed forces have mounted campaigns against militant strongholds in the northwest, clearing several areas, including the Pakistani Taliban bastion of South Waziristan. But one major militant stronghold has not been tackled – North Waziristan. The army says it must consolidate gains elsewhere before attacking there. But the region is a stronghold of Afghan Taliban factions, who have not been attacking the Pakistani state. Analysts say Pakistan sees them as tools for its long-term objectives in Afghanistan, where Pakistan wants to see a friendly government and the sway of old rival India minimized. But if investigators trace Shahzad's links to North Waziristan, where Al-Qaeda and other factions operate, the United States will press Pakistan to deal with the region. What are the implications of Mehsud's re-emergence? Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was widely believed to have been killed in a US drone missile strike in January. But he re-appeared in videos posted on the Internet on Sunday, threatening suicide attacks in US cities. His re-emergence would have been a major disappointment for both the United States and Pakistan. Mehsud is believed to have been behind most bomb attacks on Pakistani security forces and other targets in urban areas. Analysts largely dismiss Mehsud's threats of attacks in the United States as bluster – his network is seen as not sophisticated enough to mount operations in the West – but there's no question he can provide support and training in Pakistan to people such as Shahzad. US and Pakistani agents will step up efforts to track Mehsud down. While Pakistan officially decries US drone strikes on its soil, if Pakistani agents traced Mehsud they would likely pass information to the United States in the hope a US drone could eliminate their biggest enemy once and for all. Could US pressure on Pakistan strain relations? Yes, it could, but the United States is likely to tread carefully. After years of half-hearted efforts in the campaign against militancy, Pakistan's successes over the past year have impressed Washington. While the United States can be expected to quietly press Pakistan to deal with North Waziristan, it will be loathe to anger Pakistan, which balks at US pressure. Overt US pressure on a country where anti-US sentiment runs high could undermine its civilian government, and give ammunition to hardliners sceptical of the US alliance. The United States is Pakistan's biggest aid donor and there has been no hint of any withholding of assistance to apply pressure. Military-to-military contacts are extensive and will remain close, especially as the United States could well need Pakistani help in pressing the Afghan Taliban into negotiations as it struggles to find a way out of Afghanistan. But US patience would be severly tested by another attack linked to Pakistan-based militants. In a worst-case scenario for Pakistan-US ties, Pakistan could throw the US operation in Afghanistan into question by shutting down supply routes running through Pakistan along which passes a large volume of US military supplies, from drinking water to fuel.
