More than a decade of counter insurgency war has passed. In this war, Pakistan has been majorly involved up to an extent that the US, for several times, called it a key ally. Both countries enjoyed a normal relation for a long term in a way that Pakistan used to pave the way for US to reach high-profile terrorists and in return receive billions of dollars as military and civilian aids.

But 2011 saw a major rift in the US Pak relation. At times when the two nations were trying to normalize their ties after the killing of Osama bin Laden, about 26 Pakistani soldiers got killed in a NATO airstrike near Pak-Afghan border last month.

The Pakistani border points have been closed for trucks carrying supplies and logistics to US forces in Afghanistan. Also, the US was notified to evacuate the Shamsi Airbase in Baluchistan of Pakistan which it had been utilizing for flying drones.

Since the border incident last month, the US has stopped its drone attacks on the tribal areas of Pakistan. The reason, according to the US officials, is confidence building with Pakistani government and moving the US Pak relation towards normalization. Although halting the drone attacks have been called 'temporary,' the question "when will these attacks resume?" is not yet clear.

What is clear is that the beneficiary of sour relation between Pakistan and the US will be the insurgents who have been hiding in the tribal areas near Afghan border. Over the last several years, the drone attacks have been quite efficacious as many high ranking insurgents including Baitullah Mehsud, ex TTP leader, were targeted and eliminated.

But in the same area, the current TTP leader, Hamkimullah Mehsud has been leading the Pakistani Taliban and members of al Qaida, Haqqani network and other groups of insurgents. They not only pose threats to NATO and Afghan security forces but also to Pakistan itself. The stoppage of US drone attacks is going to benefit them further. Both the US and Pakistan have to work to better their relation or expect growth in terror attacks on them.