Aligning objectives: Reset ties with US, says ex-envoy

‘Pakistan has been made a scapegoat for the US failure in Afghanistan’.

LONDON:

Pakistan and the United States need to reconfigure their relationship in a transparent manner and in tune with the aspirations of the people, former diplomat Dr Maleeha Lodhi said here.

Dr Lodhi was addressing an event in the House of Commons organised by Third World Solidarity and attended by MPs of Pakistani origin and senior members of the judiciary.

Speaking to a gathering of mostly Pakistani expatriates, Dr Lodhi said that there has been a systematic effort to demonise Pakistan throughout the world and the international media had “bought into an American narrative” which seeks to make Pakistan the scapegoat for its own failures in Afghanistan. An indication of this failure is that “they now want to talk to the Taliban that they have been trying to kill for the last ten years,” she said.

While Pakistan has been a victim in the Afghan war, she said, it also needs to play a more proactive role in helping to end the conflict. And this would enable the crisis in Pakistan-US relations to be resolved. “We need to align our objectives in Afghanistan with the US. If we help the US to find a political solution in Afghanistan that will enable President Obama to start the withdrawal of troops from the country, a step that is very important to him politically,” she explained.

Regarding drone attacks Dr Lodhi said that Pakistan should either openly admit that the US has permission to conduct drone attacks or refuse to allow these attacks. “It cannot do both. I don’t believe in a policy that is based on a lie”.

The best way to avoid demonisation and to fix our foreign policy issues, she said, is to address our domestic challenges and focus on imposing an effective tax system and educating our growing population. “To run any organisation you need a leader, a vision and a team, she said, but Pakistan currently lacks all three elements. The people of Pakistan cannot afford to wait for a leader but should through greater public engagement and involvement influence the leadership to take action.” Dr Lodhi is in Britain to launch her book Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2011.