Pak-US relations have never been of trust. The people of Pakistan have always seen the US as a self-serving power that grinds only the axe it owns and wield it quite mercilessly too. Our relations have remained volatile in past but it changed all after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The world, including Pakistan had condemned the attacks back then but as the time has passed, a new realization has set in that may be the whole terrorist incident was a drama enacted by CIA and Mossad. The US desperately needed Pakistans help after 911 to launch the war in Afghanistan and we, unfortunately, proved to be the suckers that fell for the rhetoric of 'war on terror to join the fray. After ten years of our cooperation, the US is now raising concerns about the safety of Pakistans nuclear arsenal. So we are frantically telling the world that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and has no aggressive designs against any country. During the recent Pak-US strategic talks, Washington promised to help in water, energy, trade, technology and science. But when it came to delivering on these promises in real terms, it backed out as usual telling Pakistan we should be building dams to fulfill our requirements of water and power. A civil nuclear deal which could have quickly solved our energy problems, says Washington, can never be till the American reservations on it are addressed. That would probably never be. Perhaps friendship with the US can never be. About time we made a fundamental shift in our policy and looked eastwards towards our time-tested friend, China. The proposed civil nuclear deal with China is of great importance for Pakistan as it would help tackle the energy crisis we are facing. Guess who is out full-force to sabotage the deal that is so crucial to our survival? None other than our old friend and non-NATO allyUSA -DR GUL-I RAANA, Islamabad, July 29.