WASHINGTON: The United States not only used the threat of an aid cut to defuse a potentially explosive situation in Pakistan but also had doubts about the Zardari government’s ability to fight terrorism, US officials and lawmakers said on Tuesday.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds US foreign aid programmes, said there’s a strong desire in the US Congress to provide economic assistance to Pakistan.
‘But if Pakistan is in such a state of internal political turmoil that US aid can’t be used effectively, that’s going to limit what can be done,’ he warned.
The US media also quoted senior Obama officials as saying that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had exerted strong pressure on Pakistani leaders for a deal when she called them over the weekend.
The officials said Mrs Clinton told both President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif that US lawmakers might balk at sending Pakistan more aid while the crisis persisted.
The statements caused an interesting reaction from Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, Husain Haqqani, who, until recently, snubbed those who said the United States were interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
‘As an ally of Pakistan, the United States may have concerns about domestic developments but it has no role in our domestic politics,’ he said.
‘Pakistan’s domestic politics are a matter for Pakistanis alone. US support and aid should be for the Pakistani people and should remain unaffected by developments in domestic politics,’ he added, causing diplomatic observers in Washington to note that the Zardari administration was not comfortable with this change in US attitude, particularly with its friendly gestures to Mr Sharif.
The Washington Post also quoted US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan as warning that while the resolution of the judicial dispute prevented a political meltdown in Pakistan, the underlying problem still existed.
‘While resolution of the immediate problem bodes better than the alternative outcome’ of political meltdown, ‘the underlying problem still exists,’ said Mr Holbrooke who played a key role in defusing the situation.
The Post also quoted another senior State Department official as saying that the Obama administration ‘understood from the beginning that the current government is not wildly popular.’
The Post quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying that Washington’s changing attitude ‘has lasting implications for how much the Zardari government is going to go out on a limb for the US, for how much we will trust them.’
At a public appearance at the State Department, Secretary Clinton acknowledged that she spoke with both President Zardari and Nawaz Sharif to avoid a potentially disastrous clash between the two leaders.
But what she said next may increase worries in the corridors of power in Islamabad.
‘We are going to continue our very close working relationship with the government and a number of Pakistani leaders in the days and weeks ahead,’ she said. ‘So there will be an ongoing effort to make our services available.’
‘The Zardari government was less than pleased with how the intervention unfolded —especially the contacts with Sharif,’ the Post noted.
But a senior Obama official said Washington believed, ‘If we’re going to sustain a civilian government that can be a counterpart, we need one that has enough basis of support.
Dawn (Pakistan)
