Shireen Mazari has finally let the cat out of the bag and exposed herself as anti-military. In today’s The Nation, the editorial suggests that because of suspicion and mistrust between the American and Pakistani militaries, Pakistan’s military should cut off it’s ties to the US military. This is a stab in the back from a member of the national media.

For all its faults, the US is a major supporter of Pakistan’s military. The Americans provide essential funding, equipment, and training to Pakistan that help our brave soldiers defend the homeland. Working closely with top military officers, President Obama has expedited delivery of new technologies to help Pakistan’s defense.

During preparations this spring for the Pakistani campaigns in Swat and South Waziristan, President Obama personally intervened at the request of Pakistan’s top army general to speed the delivery of 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters. Senior Pentagon officials have also hurried spare parts for Cobra helicopter gunships, night vision goggles, body armor and eavesdropping equipment to the fight.

American military surveillance drones are feeding video images and target information to Pakistani ground commanders, and the Pentagon has quietly provided the Pakistani Air Force with high-resolution, infrared sensors for F-16 warplanes, which Pakistan is using to guide bomb attacks on militants’ strongholds in South Waziristan.

In addition, the number of American Special Forces soldiers and support personnel who are training and advising Pakistani Army and paramilitary troops has doubled in the past eight months, to as many as 150, an American adviser said. The Americans do not conduct combat operations.

This military partnership is ongoing, despite attempts by some to drive a wedge between us and the Americans and leaving us isolated. Think of what this isolation would cost:

This year alone, the Pentagon is sending more than $500 million in arms, equipment and training assistance to Pakistan, to help train and equip the Pakistani military for counterinsurgency operations.

Included in that package is nearly $13 million in electronic eavesdropping equipment to intercept militants’ cellphone calls. In July, the Pentagon supplied Pakistan with 200 night vision goggles, 100 day/night scopes, more than 600 radios and 9,475 sets of body armor.

The Pentagon has also sharply increased programs to bring Pakistani officers to the United States for training, particularly in counterterrorism.

So why is Shireen Mazari suggesting that the military distance itself from the US!?! Today’s editorial says, “It is time to create a distance between the Pakistan and US militaries.”

Let’s think about what this would mean in practical defense terms. If Shireen Mazari had her way, our military would not have:

• New Mi-17 helicopters
• New F-16 warplanes
• Cobra helicopter gunship parts
• Night vision goggles
• Body armor to protect our soldiers
• Eavesdropping equipment to gather intelligence
• Hi-resolution infrared sensors for F-16 warplanes
• Training by the world’s superpower
• $500 million in arms
• Hundreds of day/night scopes
• Hundreds of radios

This is only part of the equipment and training provided to Pakistan by the US military. What do you think India would do if we took Shireen Mazari’s advice and cut off our military supplies? Probably declare a national holiday! To turn our backs on this assistance would be to sign our own suicide note.

Surely there is ample suspicion and distrust between Paksitan and the US. But notice that this is never the result of military officials. It is almost never even the result of political officials! No, what causes this suspicion and mistrust is the uninformed writings of questionable characters like Shireen Mazari. Who is she working for, we ask! Certainly not for a strong Pakistan.

Rather than turning our backs on the world’s superpower and cutting off essential sources of advanced military equipment and training, Gen. Kiyani and the military officials should be working to foster closer ties with the American military officers and breaking down barriers of mistrust. Once our military pushes aside those who stand in our way (Shireen Mazari) and develops a partnership of mutual trust with the American military, no one will dare to threaten our nation.