On her recent visit to Pakistan, US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton received a warm welcome in Pakistan (as far as the official version of the story is concerned). However,fact of the matter is that she was confronted with a very hostile set of questions by a few Pakistani journalists who had that opportunity to sit with her and talk about different bilateral issues between US and Pakistan.
I had the chance to watch that TV recording and perhaps she was herself not very much ready to face this kind of environment during her brief exposure to the Pakistani media.
But, we must give credit to those individuals sitting with her. Surely, they were among the media elite and they truly proved their representation of the common Pakistani people.
It is to her credit also, the way she calmly answered those tough questions. But, I must say it was the need of the hour to deliver the concerns of the Pakistani nation to any incoming high level US official coming to see us.
Perhaps the gravity of the situation cannot be assessed individually by any US official on a quick tour to the country, especially when our government has turned deaf ears towards the local think tanks, nation loving intellectuals and important of all the common people. So it is our national duty to assert upon the US, our rights to be respected as an ally, not as slaves. As a front line friend caught in their war, not as an enemy fighting against another enemy. And Pakistani media has played that role effectively in this brief meeting today.
However, with her answers, comes a great deal of ambiguity in my mind regarding the real motivation that drives US government to take decisions about cooperation with Pakistan. And in my mind, this whole tour was a PR exercise, rather than tour for the delivery of some decisive and concrete measures to safeguard Pakistan against the terrorism. So in my personal opinion:
1- Perhaps US government is indecisive about taking further measures in Afghanistan. Perhaps they are at a loss to decide as what to do. Pulling out is a failure. And keep pushing in is also a failure.
2- US government is finding ways to get rid of this war on terror in Afghanistan. They want to shift this momentum to Pakistan and get themselves out of that country. May be they are planning another ground for the same war?
3- Or on the other hand, it’s a wolf in the lamb’s skin? Pakistani nuclear installations are considered highly dangerous and Neocons are actively seeking to take control of them.
4- The only organized institution remains to be the military in this country, that will not compromise on the security of the country in the name of foreign aid and money and sell Pakistani nation for a few billion dollars (Obama knows Asif Ali Zardari) and that truly safeguards Pakistan from its hostile neighbors. And active lobbyists and Neocons are trying their level best to destabilize Pakistani army.
I can tell you that this visit of Ms. Clinton did not bring to us any message of solidarity and cooperation in terms of the real terror threat faced by the Pakistani people. On the other hand it brought a few thousand tube wells for irrigation, a few more IPPs (when the only reason for this power short fall remains to be the corruption of the Pakistani government and their inability to pay the dues to oil and gas companies), Tarbela maintainance (which Pakistanis are fully capable to maintain themselves). And this PR exercise is partially over for now. Let’s get back to normal day issues (Bomb blasts in the country streets and a fight in Waziristan).Least, Americans wont mind it, unless and until we keep on killing our brothers, fathers and sons for them.
Changing Times 