Pakistan PM meets a sceptical US

July 31st, 2008 Aimon · No Comments

Source:BBC News
By Kim Ghattas
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani came to Washington hoping to get President Bush to see in him a reliable and durable alternative to Pervez Musharraf.

But at the end of his three-day visit to the US, it’s far from certain that he has succeeded.

He appeared self-assured during his joint statement with Mr Bush and again during a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) where he boasted about his strong mandate secured through an unanimous vote of confidence he got in parliament four months ago.

But Mr Gilani has failed to assert himself at home since he was elected and with the shadow of President Musharraf still looming large, the new Pakistani leader found a sceptical audience among US officials and observers.

‘Vibrant democracy’

During his talk at the CFR, he also failed to answer many of the questions put to him, either by giving short, opaque answers or by launching into lengthy explanations that seemed unrelated to the question.

He frustrated the moderators and even drew some giggles from the room.

After their meeting at the White House, both Prime Minister Gilani and President Bush went to great lengths to stress the strong ties between the two countries.

The US president said “Pakistan is a strong ally and vibrant democracy”, while Mr Gilani emphasised the desire to have excellent relations with America.

Sovereignty was a word used repeatedly by both men, with President Bush insisting that the US respected Pakistan’s sovereignty.

The niceties were coming against the backdrop of a suspected US strike against a border village in Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal area.

The US military denied it launched the strike which reportedly killed a senior al-Qaeda figure.

It could still mean that the operation was carried out by Central Intelligence Agency predator drones.

Mr Gilani later said that if it was proven that it had been a US strike, this would be a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Volatile regions

“Basically, Americans are a little impatient. Therefore in the future, I think we’ll have more co-operation on the intelligence side and we’ll do the job ourselves,” he said.
The US has been pushing Pakistan to do more in the fight against pro-Taleban militants in areas near the Afghan border.

Islamabad has been negotiating peace deals with some militant groups, in the hope of bringing stability to the volatile region but both the US and Nato have criticised the agreements, saying they gives safe havens to extremists.

Nato points to a 40% increase in attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan during the month of May.

An outbreak of violence in the Swat valley has now renewed doubts about the Pakistani “peace-agreements” approach.

Mr Gilani insisted again and again that Pakistan was capable of fighting the extremist threat by itself but maintained that it would do so on its own terms.

“We are no one’s surrogates, we are fighting to save the soul of our homeland, to save Pakistan. This is not Charlie Wilson’s war, this is Benazir Bhutto’s war.”

He was referring to the Texas Congressman who during the 1980s led efforts to support a covert CIA operation to funnel funds and arms to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan - and at the same time dictate how the Afghan government fought the war against the Soviet troops.

Unconventional war

But today, Pakistan’s reluctance to tackle the militants is a sign that it refuses to fight what it sees as a proxy war for the US.

The new head of the army, Gen Afshaq Kiani, has been quietly pursuing the peace deals with the militants while building up the military’s conventional forces.

But after insisting Pakistan could do the job, Mr Gilani seemed to contradict himself by admitting that his country’s army did not have the skills, the weapons or the intelligence needed to fight the unconventional war against the militants in the volatile, mountainous border area.

Without meaning to do so, he justified unilateral strikes by the US against the pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan.

But his appeal for more intelligence-sharing and high-tech military gadgets will probably have to be backed by action before the Bush administration actually delivers, particularly amid renewed allegations of ties between Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency and the Taleban. Pakistan has rejected the accusations.

President Bush last week asked Congress to divert two-thirds of this year’s $300m military aid package - supposed to be used for Pakistan’s counter-terrorism programme - to upgrade its F-16 aircraft instead.

Congress protested and on Tuesday two top Democratic lawmakers asked that the plan be put on hold.

Critics argue that fighter jets are not needed in the fight against militants operating in mountainous terrain.

Mr Gilani however said he was “heartened” by another move in Congress - the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee sent a bi-partisan bill to the full Senate, proposing to triple the civilian aid to Pakistan to $7.5bn over five years.

Senators Joseph Biden (Democrat) and Richard Lugar (Republican) said it was time to move the focus of US-Pakistani ties away from the military to the people.

Pakistan hopes this is a sign that the US is committed to a long-term alliance, not just a transactional relationship that is convenient while the US fights its “war against terror”.

Although some argue that Pakistan is not useful or helpful in that fight, the US and Nato need Pakistan on their side if they are to make sure that the supply lines for troops inside Afghanistan remain protected.

Mr Gilani also said Pakistan wanted more from its relationship with the US - pointing to the civilian nuclear deal that the US is pursuing with India.

“There should be no discrimination. If they want to give such nuclear status to India, we expect the same for Pakistan.”

From Mr Gilani’s own uncertain political future to the tension surrounding the approach to the militants, there’s a lot in the way of the US-Pakistan relationship before it reaches that level.