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A little noticed but major flaw in the Pakistan-US partnership in the war on terror is leading Pakistani policymakers and public opinion to make a serious error in judgment that could devastate Pakistan's stability and leave us looking like another close U.S. ally: Iraq.

This error in judgment is simple but easily overlooked: Pakistan did not take part in occupying Afghanistan. The war to sustain that occupation and prolong it is not Pakistan's war. It never was. For President Zardari's government to 'own' this war at US behest is not only illogical but it also shifts the responsibility of stabilizing Afghanistan onto Pakistan's shoulders. In a worst case scenario, if anything goes wrong, this 'Pakistani ownership' can and will be used later to force a variety of foreign military interventions in Pakistan, as part of the war on terror or to protect our allegedly endangered nukes. This is why Islamabad needs to officially leave the coalition that occupies Afghanistan and squarely pin the responsibility for Afghanistan on the US.

This delineation is important because the Pakistani war is limited to our border regions and against criminal groups masquerading as the 'Pakistani Taliban'. It is not Pakistan's war or responsibility to stamp out the Afghan opposition and resistance groups that thrive inside Afghanistan and may sometimes enter Pakistani territory to seek support from tribes with whom they share ethnicity. It is not our responsibility that Washington and its puppet Karzai regime have failed or are unwilling to bring the disgruntled Afghans on board and end the civil war.

The question of alleged support from Pakistan to the Afghan Taliban, the 'sanctuaries', and the 'rogue intelligence' theory is all secondary if Washington decides today to talk to Afghan opposition groups, including the Afghan Taliban, and offers them a share in ruling their country. If this happens, the question of Pakistani support for Afghan insurgency will become obsolete since there will be no insurgency to support. This is the crux: reconciliation in Afghanistan will end the Afghan opposition's need for sanctuaries anywhere. What is happening right now is that Mr Karzai and the former Northern Alliance are refusing to bring Afghan opposition on board and instead are pushing US to a war with Pakistan to settle old scores.