Pakistan has been back in the headlines lately, and we have nothing to do with it at all. You haven't seen it make headlines of any kind on its relations with us, India, for a very long time now. Is that good news, or bad news? So tortuously complicated is our neighbour's worldview, that our situation defies the age-old logic of no news is good news.

Let me explain. For decades, and particularly so since the end of the Cold War and nuclearisation of the subcontinent, Pakistan has had only one real, permanent leverage with the rest of the world: its strained equation with

India, its ability, with just one provocation, to bring the two countries close to war (as after the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack, the tenth anniversary of which will fall later this year) or help its establishment drum up a fictitious war-like atmosphere, as they did after 26/11. That immediately gets the world to wake up. In short, it solves (albeit temporarily) Pakistan's biggest problem: lack of attention from the rest of the world, particularly America. India is Pakistan's permanent hostage and it is worth good ransom value whenever the Western powers seem to be losing interest in their old, favourite and often naughty child in the subcontinent.

Developments over the past few months may just be leading the Pakistani establishment into that state of mind. We have Admiral Mullen, and now Obama himself, accusing them of betrayal. It has, in fact, been a long time since you heard even the usual, patronising words of praise the Americans gratuitously throw at the Pakistanis. This, when the Americans are heading for their own elections, and when their plans for a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan are nearly final.

This is how the Pakistanis will read this: these guys are going away and won't need us any more. Of course, if they are attacked from this region, they will respond with Tomahawks or drones as they do, hold your breath, in Yemen. Hold your breath, because, can you imagine the almighty, nuclear-armed Pakistan, with the fifth largest army and more civilians carrying Kalashnikovs than the rest of the world put together, being reduced to the utter irrelevance of a Yemen? Do the Americans really think they can leave us alone to deal with these Indians, or as a satellite of China with no leverage any more, globally, or in the neighbourhood?

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