Ex-JI chief’s anti-US remarks were for public consumption, author claims

New book reveals duplicitous dealings of Pakistani politicians

ISLAMABAD: It seems hypocrisy takes centre stage when it comes to Pakistani politicians in their boisterous statements for domestic consumption and how they actually are when dealing with western countries.

This has been narrated in a new book, ‘Tightrope Walk’, by Amanullah Khan who worked as a political advisor at the US Embassy in Islamabad for over 30 years. The book was launched on Monday.



Chronicling in tedious detail the nature of US-Pakistan relations, Amanullah writes that in the months after the US attacked Afghanistan in 2001, anti-US sentiments were high in Pakistan.

It was amidst such tumultuous times that former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief late Qazi Hussain Ahmed told the then US Ambassador Nancy Powell that he was “a friend of the US” and assured that his anti-US comments were for ‘public consumption’.

“These were his [Ahmed’s] words. Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s example reflects the hypocrisy of Pakistani politicians,” Amanullah said.

Covering events from 1973 to 2003, he said that the hypocrisy of Pakistani politicians while meeting US diplomats had provided him with the motivations to write the book.

During his career, Amanullah worked with 12 US ambassadors and witnessed some crucial events in the rollercoaster of bilateral ties between Islamabad and Washington. From burning down the US embassy in 1979, the 1988 aeroplane crash that killed General Zia and the US Ambassador Arnold Raphel to the US-Pakistan standoff on the nuclear issue.



Talking about the 1988 crash, he recalled that a day before when he was departing for Quetta, Ambassador Raphael had set a meeting over lunch with him for the next day. However, his flight from Quetta to Islamabad was delayed and the ambassador had to postpone the meeting till the day after.

“The day never came,” Amanullah remarked.

Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Abida Hussain noted that the narrative in the book was engaging and also threw light on the political history of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2017.