Hillary Clinton in Pakistan
by
Javed Hafiz |
Describing the Pakistan-US relationship, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Pakistan officially last week, used marriage as a simile. Like a marriage this relationship has had its ups and downs. “But the United States does not want a divorce,” she added quickly. That aptly describes the current situation in which, despite misgivings on both sides, Pakistan cannot be dispensed with just like that. Its role in war on terror is far too important.
The visit came in the wake of a controversy emanating from the conditions mentioned in the security assistance part of the Kerry Lugar Bill. Not only the US Government but also Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Peoples Party was taken aback by the Pakistani public’s nationalistic response. They thought Pakistan was being praised for its role in the war on terror on one hand and on the other hand it was being projected as a juvenile delinquent who had to behave or else….
The negative fallout of the Kerry Lugar Bill not only exposed the civil-military divide but also polarised the public opinion. This should have been avoided by the US lawmakers who could have used more diplomatic language in the bill and by the anti-US parties like Jamat-e-Islami which clearly ignored the positive aspects of the bill and focused on the negative sections only.
Hillary Clinton was left with the job of damage control. She performed the task quite well. She was confident and articulate. The charm and courtesy displayed by her were in sharp contrast to the bulldozing style of Armitage, Negroponte and Holbrooke. Some observers have described this visit as a “charm offensive”. Another similar opinion said that there was more style and less substance in her pronouncements. My experience shows that things of substance are discussed more in the official meetings and many of them are not divulged to the media. So passing that hasty judgment without knowing exactly what was discussed in the official meetings would be unfair.
The real problem faced by the US is growing casualties in Afghanistan with little achievements on ground. In the last one month, 55 American soldiers have died, the highest in any month so far. According to the Washington Post-ABC news poll, “A majority of Americans see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting.” Only one fourth of Americans support sending more troops to Afghanistan. No wonder the US government is preparing ground for talks with the “good Taliban” in Afghanistan.
However, Hillary Clinton betrayed a clear contradiction when it came to Pakistan’s fight against the Taliban. She criticised Pakistan for fighting against the Taliban selectively. The problem is that the United States wants to minimise its own casualties and expects Pakistan to fight every single Taliban to the end. Pakistani casualties in the war are more than 2,000 soldiers as compared to over 900 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Kerry Lugar Bill, accepted by the government of Pakistan, is still being used by the opposition to fuel public emotions. In an earlier column, I had said that this bill offered Pakistan a soft loan of $7.5 billion. I must correct myself; it is a grant. Pakistan deserves much more than this. Its losses in the war on terror have been to the tune of $40 billion. Any refusal to accept external assistance would mean tightening of belts by the Pakistani rulers and the privileged class. They are not ready for that.
Misgivings about the Kerry Lugar bill were compounded by the stories that armed security personnel of the notorious Blackwater Company were roaming freely in Islamabad and Peshawar. Then came the news that as soon as Pakistani forces launched military operation in South Waziristan, the International forces in Afghanistan commanded by General McCrystal vacated the border posts. People in Pakistan thought that with a friend like the United States, Pakistan did not require enemies!
Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan was the beginning of public diplomacy with a nation that has paid a heavy price for aligning with the West. Apart from meeting all important civil and military leaders, Hillary Clinton interacted with students, parliamentarians, tribal leaders, women activists, and businessmen. She even visited the shrine of Barri Imam, the patron saint of Islamabad and its vicinity. Her visit to Datta Darbar, the shrine of Patron Saint of Lahore, had to be cancelled for security reasons. She fielded some very difficult questions at my alma mater, the Government College University in Lahore. She was the first US leader to have closely interacted with the real Pakistan.
Charm offensives do not last very long. As opposed to the ‘International bully’ image of the Bush era, the new face of US diplomacy is quite friendly. However, sweet words have to be matched with deeds. I think the US administration should learn from the Chinese and build some tangible projects, say a river dam, to show friendship with the people of Pakistan. Otherwise, the US-Pakistani relations would remain tainted by the drone attacks on the soil of an allied nation.
(Javed Hafiz is Pakistan’s former ambassador to the Sultanate)
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