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Summary:
A stable, democratic, prosperous Pakistan is considered vital to U.S. interests. U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional and global terrorism; Afghan stability; democratization and human rights protection; the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions; and economic development. A U.S.-Pakistan relationship marked by periods of both cooperation and discord was transformed by the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the ensuing enlistment of Pakistan as a key ally in U.S.-led counterterrorism efforts. Top U.S. officials regularly praise Pakistan for its ongoing cooperation, although doubts exist about Islamabad's commitment to some core U.S. interests. Pakistan is identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan. Pakistan's army has conducted unprecedented and largely ineffectual counterterrorism operations in the country's western tribal areas, where Al Qaeda operatives and their allies are believed to enjoy "safehavens." A separatist insurgency in the divided Kashmir region has been underway since 1989. India has blamed Pakistan for the infiltration of Islamic militants into its Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir state, a charge Islamabad denies. The United States strongly encourages maintenance of a bilateral cease-fire and continued, substantive dialogue between Pakistan and India, which have fought three wars since 1947. A perceived Pakistan-India nuclear arms race has been the focus of U.S. nonproliferation efforts in South Asia. Attention to this issue intensified following nuclear tests by both countries in 1998. The United States has been troubled by evidence of transfers of Pakistani nuclear technologies and materials to third parties, including North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Such evidence became stark in 2004. Pakistan's macroeconomic indicators turned positive after 2001, with some meaningful poverty reduction seen in this still poor country. President Bush seeks to expand U.S.-Pakistan trade and investment relations. Democracy has fared poorly in Pakistan, with the country enduring direct military rule for more than half of its existence. In 1999, the elected government was ousted in a coup led by then-Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf, who later assumed the title of president. Supreme Court-ordered elections seated a new civilian government in 2002, but it remained weak, and Musharraf retained the position as army chief until his 2007 retirement. International concerns grew in late 2007 with Musharraf's six-week-long imposition of emergency rule, and the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister and leading opposition figure Benazir Bhutto. However, February 2008 parliamentary elections were relatively credible and seated a coalition opposed to Musharraf's rule. The development spurred the Bush Administration to issue a determination that a democratically elected government had been restored in Islamabad, thus permanently removing coup-related aid sanctions. Pakistan is among the world's leading recipients of U.S. aid, obtaining more than $5 billion in overt assistance since 2001, including about $2 billion in security-related aid. Pakistan also has received nearly $6 billion in reimbursements for its support of U.S.-led counterterrorism efforts. See also CRS Report RL34240, Pakistan's Political Crises, and CRS Report RL34449, Pakistan's 2008 Elections. This report will be updated regularly.
