The highlight of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit so far is the U.S. decision to resume aid to Pakistan that was suspended following a Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan to take out Osama bin Laden.
Functioning without an ambassador since the new government assumed office in May this year, the Pakistan Embassy in Washington is reported to have undertaken no major lobbying effort at the Hill preceding this visit.
By all accounts, Nawaz Sharif's arrival is a public relation exercise. It will help improve the atmospherics after a phase of extreme tension and mutual bickering, but, will not cause any breakthrough.
Nawaz Sharif has come to Washington when it is still reeling from the government shut down. With domestic concerns pressing for attention, Pakistan is obviously not at the top of President Obama's agenda.
It is, however, important that Washington chose to send out a positive signal that it wants to engage Pakistan,by inviting Nawaz Sharif for a visit.
There are differences between the U.S. and Pakistan, which manifested in a series of untoward incidents during the past two years. However, tactical considerations require that the U.S. keeps Pakistan engaged. The U.S. needs Islamabad's support in removing its military hardware and ensuring long-term stability in Afghanistan.
The contours of Pak-U.S. relations will change once a majority of U.S. troops leave Afghanistan. Coalition Support Fund (CSF) will dry up in 2014 and Pakistan, hardly surviving, will find it even more difficult to meet expenses.
U.S. assistance, undoubtedly, is the main subject of this visit, because, stopping of CSF put an enormous strain on Pakistan, which is also fighting against internal militancy.
Nawaz Sharif has his own views about how American funds could be best used. While Washington will listen to his ideas, whether he gets the desired package of aid will largely depend on how well prepared he comes.
Pakistan is keen to be delinked from Afghanistan and treated on its own merit. This has not been possible during the past decade because the U.S. was so consumed by the Afghan conflict, that all aspects of its business with Pakistan were dictated by Afghanistan.
Pakistan would like the U.S. to spell out its vision of U.S.-Pakistan relationship post-2014. It would also like to know the details of the U.S. exit plan.
How Afghanistan fares after U.S. closes shop, will have deep impact on the security situation in Pakistan. This visit is a good opportunity for Nawaz Sharif to make the case for a long-term engagement, because stability of both Afghanistan and Pakistan is important for the U.S.
Political settlement in Afghanistan and its internal security is indeed the foremost concern for both the U.S. and Pakistan. There may be an expectation that Pakistan will help in securing the Afghan election next year, as it did in 2004-2005 by deploying additional forces on the Afghan border.
Another dimension of cooperation is-to the extent Pakistan has leverage with the Haqqani group-to not disrupt the election. Although crafting a political solution seems like a lost cause after the Doha debacle, the U.S. will continue to say, if Pakistan can, bring pressure on the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.
The most important issue of domestic concern for Pakistan are drone strikes in its tribal areas. Pakistan has repeatedly asked the U.S. to halt these attacks, calling it a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. The U.S. started the drone campaign with the tacit agreement of Pakistan's government in 2004 that continuesto date.
After failing to make a military breakthrough in the protracted war in Afghanistan, President Obama authorized extensive use of drones to fight al Qaeda. However, it has become increasingly difficult for the Government of Pakistan to justify its involvement to its public, who are fired by anti-US sentiments, and consider every casualty by drones a civilian death.
Although the number of drone strikes has declined considerably this year, it has become a hot political issue in Pakistan and internationally. The U.N. has also called the U.S. to 'release its own data on the level of civilian casualties'.
So far, Washington has resisted pressure to forgo the right to use drones. It is highly unlikely the U.S. will agree to stop sending drones over Pakistan to take out targets of opportunity just because Pakistan is uncomfortable with them.
Washington is listening to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with more seriousness than his predecessors, because, he has been handsomely elected and his decisions carry weight back home. It is also a chance for the U.S. to build a partnership with the civilian side of the government, rather than completely rely on military-to-military contacts for conducting business.
It is worth noting that Sharif is making several public appearances before large audiences. People are very keen to listen to what he has to say. It is vital that he communicates that he has the capacity to implement his decisions and that the two countries can deal with one another despite their differences.
The writer is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. She tweets at @ishrats and can be reached at isaleem@syr.edu.
