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In 2001 the discontinuance by Pakistan of support for the Taliban and its backing for the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan were of key importance to the United States' quick victory and the change of government in Kabul. Yet in years thereafter it transpired that in the war on terror Pakistan was playing a double game, which enabled it to be, at the same time, an important ally of the anti-terror coalition and a significant partner of selected terrorist and militant organizations. Consequently, cooperation of Pakistan has been selective, and although Pakistani forces have fought certain extremist groups, they have condoned the operation of some other forces regarded as useful to the attainment by Pakistan of its own interests.
The United States, which in the 1980s used cooperation with Pakistan to support the mujahideen fighting against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, has now found itself in a position similar to that of the USSR at that time. Just as 30 years ago, Pakistan is again the chief support base, the military stronghold, and a base for recruitment, logistics and training for Afghanistan's war with foreign forces. Thus Pakistan's ambiguous position in the war on terror has become one of the main reasons for the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and destabilization in South Asia.
The recognition by U.S. President Barack Obama of an "inextricable link" between the stabilization of Afghanistan and developments in neighboring Pakistan opened a new chapter in the war on terror. The change of administration in the U.S. coincided with President Pervez Musharraf's resignation and the restoration of democracy in Pakistan in 2008. These developments strengthened the realistic chance for a new opening in U.S.-Pakistani relations and for necessary adjustments to the anti-terrorist cooperation. The U.S. administration started demanding that Pakistan end the double game, promising in return a range of economic and political benefits. Yet after years of implementation of the new strategy the result of changes in Pakistan's attitude remains, on balance, ambiguous.
Selective Cooperation: Pakistan in the Fight against Extremism after 2001
The 11 September attacks triggered a rapid re-arrangement of alliances in South Asia. Pakistan, which had until then supported the Taliban government in Afghanistan, overnight became a frontline state and a chief ally of the U.S. in the beginning...