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Anti-Americanism in Pakistan upsets envoy
KARACHI, May 8: US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson has said that the
depth of anti-Americanism in Pakistan, especially in the middle
class, has surprised her because Pakistan’s long-term interests are
aligned with “ours and with those of other western countries”.
“I suspect that those who oppose American engagement in Pakistan
have a limited understanding of how our partnerships -- economic
assistance and financial interactions -- changed the lives of
everyday Pakistanis in real and positive ways,” she said at a
meeting with corporate leaders here on Thursday. The meeting was
organised by the Management Association of Pakistan.
“It appears that people who come up with the most fanciful
conspiracy theories do so in an attempt to distract the public from
the true causes of extremism and poverty.”
She warned that the increasingly prosperous middle class would be
the first to suffer because extremists were gaining ground.
“Extremists have gained ground during the past two years,” she said.
Ms Patterson assured her country’s support for the new democratic
government which was facing the enormous challenges of rising fuel
prices and food costs.
“We also want to dispel rumours that the United States only works
with your military. This is not true,” she said, adding that
Pakistan was the third largest recipient of American assistance in
the world. She said that security assistance “is an important part
of our engagement with Pakistan”.
“Your military and security personnel and their civilian employees
have been specifically targeted by militants,” she said, adding that
more than 1,000 people had been killed last year.
“America is your partner in this fight and we seek to support you on
several levels.”
Ms Patterson clarified that the US money for combating militancy did
not go directly to military and was deposited in central
government’s account.
She said her government was also engaged in a number of other
programmes to improve Pakistan’s security, which included $300
million direct assistance to Pakistan’s military, purchase of
defence systems from the US, refurbishing and building of 150 border
outposts. “We also donate equipment to military and law-enforcement
agencies.”
She informed the audience that the US had trained more than 6,000
Pakistani police and security officials over the past five years.
“It is not as simple as it appears to be,” was the response of the
US ambassador when she was asked by one of the participants to share
her country’s views on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project. She
did not agree with the questioner that it was simply an economic
project of tripartite cooperation of the countries of the region.
She was apparently not amused by a question relating to her
government’s perception about President Pervez Musharraf being a
factor of stability, and urged for moving ahead with democratic
process rather than getting stuck with one issue.
“Not on the cards now,” was her spontaneous reply when asked about
the possibility of Pakistan-US nuclear technology cooperation in
civilian areas.
She was confident that a change of guards in White House after the
next presidential elections would not result in a big change in the
US policy towards Pakistan.
She said Pakistan was now a poppy-free country and the US was
engaged in legislation for setting up reconstruction opportunity
zones in tribal areas which would help in creating jobs for tribal
people.
She denied that Washington was forcing Islamabad to use force at the
expense of social and economic development. “Let me assure you my
government would not pursue such a foolish policy,” she said, adding
that her country had been assisting Pakistan in developing the
tribal areas for years. “We have built more than 500kms of roads and
800 small irrigation and electricity schemes in Fata.”
“The scope and scale of our investments in Pakistan should serve as
indications that the US is taking a long-term view of our
relationship,” she added.
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