US-Pak: Dealing with an unfriendly ally

In the past few years, multiple power centres have begun to emerge in Pakistan, as evidenced again this week with the historically pliant Supreme Court dismissing the Pakistan prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, from office. For much of the country’s history, however, Pakistan’s military and security apparatus has wielded unchallenged domestic clout. Consequently, throughout the six decade-long US-Pakistan relationship, Pakistan’s army has been the principal interlocutor with America, both because of its domestic heft and because military rulers were at the helm in periods when the United States needed Pakistan most.

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