US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Pakistan yesterday, hoping to buttress a shaky partnership that US officials say is key to the escalating war in neighboring Afghanistan.
Clinton’s two-day visit will include talks with top military and civilian leaders as well as pledges of economic aid which Washington hopes will demonstrate to a skeptical public that the US is a trustworthy partner in the struggle against Taliban insurgents on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
US officials kept details of Clinton’s visit under wraps prior to her arrival amid sharp security concerns following a wave of suicide bombings and militant attacks in Pakistan itself.
One day before she arrived, suspected militants in a tribal region on the Afghan border ambushed a convoy of vehicles being escorted by security forces, killing 18 people.
Security will be equally tight during her next stop in Afghanistan, where she will take part in an international conference tomorrow.
The conference is aimed at fleshing out Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s pledge to assume more responsibility for both security and governance in the country ahead of US President Barack Obama’s target date of July next year to begin drawing down US forces.
The Obama administration regards nuclear-armed Pakistan as a pivotal player in the US-led struggle against militant Islamist groups in both countries, but the two sides are divided by a history of distrust and sometimes diverging goals over a war that is increasingly unpopular.
Public opinion polls have shown many Pakistanis doubtful about long-term US intentions, citing previous examples of abandonment particularly after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan.
US officials, meanwhile, are wary of the role that Pakistan is playing in Afghanistan and believe it needs to do more to fight its own homegrown Taliban militants, which Washington blames for the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square on May 1.
“When this administration came in there was a huge trust gap between Pakistan and the US,” said Vali Nasr, a special adviser to Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Pakistanis are beginning to develop much more knowledge about what our intentions are and with that comes trust.”
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