On her first visit to Pakistan as US secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to chip away yesterday at anti-Americanism in this predominantly Muslim nation, while applauding the government for taking on violent extremist forces.
She also said US President Barack Obama’s administration intends to do more to support Pakistan on a wide range of issues, including economic development, energy generation, education and the environment.
She suggested that the administration of former US president George W. Bush had focused too narrowly on Pakistan’s value as an ally in the war on terrorism, neglecting other aspects of the relationship.
“We are turning the page on what has been for the past several years primarily a security, anti-terrorist agenda,” she told reporters on the flight from Washington.
Anti-terrorism “remains a very high priority, but we also recognize that it’s imperative that we broaden our engagement with Pakistan,” she said.
In an interview with Pakistan’s Dawn TV, she was more pointed in describing what she sees as an obstacle to improving the US’ image.
“Maybe some in your country will say, No, I really didn’t have a good opinion [of the US] before; I thought it was all about, ‘Are you going to be with us or against us on the war on terrorism.’ But this is a new day,” she said.
Her comment was a veiled reference to Bush’s demand after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that Pakistan decide whether it would be an ally or an enemy.
Upon arriving on an overnight flight, Clinton went directly into talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. She was meeting later with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. She also planned to see the army’s chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
One of the most sensitive issues facing Clinton is Pakistan’s unexpectedly negative response to congressional passage of a bill providing US$7.5 billion over five years for economic and social programs in Pakistan. The Pakistani military was especially critical, saying the bill amounted to US meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
As the US’ top diplomat, Clinton arranged her three-day visit to get maximum public exposure. She planned to meet with students, business leaders, opposition figures and other elements of Pakistani society, pressing the case that the US wants an enduring partnership with Pakistan.
“It is fair to say there have been a lot of misconceptions about what the United States intends for our relationship with Pakistan,” she told reporters on her flight, adding, “It is unfortunate there are those who question our motives. I want to clear the air.”
In addition to the US partnership with nuclear-armed Islamabad in fending off insurgent efforts to destabilize the government, Washington sees Pakistan as central to its strategy in Afghanistan.
Clinton praised the Pakistani government for pressing a high-risk military offensive against extremist forces in a volatile region near the Afghan border.
“I give the Pakistani government and military high marks for taking them on,” she said. “That wasn’t what they were doing before.”
The campaign in South Waziristan, which began on Oct. 17, has ramifications beyond Pakistan, Clinton said.
“Clearly these people are allies in a network of terrorism that includes al-Qaeda and therefore we believe that what the Pakistanis are doing in standing up to extremism in Pakistan is in our national security interests,” she said.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
Two Belgian teenagers on Tuesday were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate that they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis
DEMONSTRATIONS: A protester said although she would normally sit back and wait for the next election, she cannot do it this time, adding that ‘we’ve lost too much already’ Thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday in New York, Washington and other cities across the US for a second major round of demonstrations against US President Donald Trump and his hard-line policies. In New York, people gathered outside the city’s main library carrying signs targeting the US president with slogans such as: “No Kings in America” and “Resist Tyranny.” Many took aim at Trump’s deportations of undocumented migrants, chanting: “No ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” In Washington, protesters voiced concern that Trump was threatening long-respected constitutional norms, including the right to due process. The
RSS