US pressure fuels anti-Americanism in Pakistan

Pakistanis accuse the United States of blaming their country to cover up for its own failures in the region.

Mounting pressure on Pakistan to go after a militant group blamed for attacks on US targets in Afghanistan is deepening anti-American sentiment, highlighting how difficult it will be for Washington to win more support for its war on militancy.

The rising antipathy to the United States also makes it tougher for the government, already unpopular because of widespread allegations of corruption and its failure to tackle poverty, to do anything that will be seen as caving into US demands to crack down harder on militancy.

US officials allege that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) supported the Haqqani militant network that Washington blames for the recent attack on its embassy and other targets in Kabul.

Pakistanis view such accusations with deep suspicion and accuse the United States of blaming their country to cover up for its own failures in the region.

"The allegations it has made against Pakistan were basically meant to hoodwink its own people," said Shaukat Ali Achakzai, a businessman in the southwestern city of Quetta.

"The government of Pakistan should strongly and forcefully respond to American allegations. The people of Pakistan will support it if it does so."

Washington and Islamabad are engaged in the harshest war of words since Pakistan joined the US "war on terror" following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has warned the United States it risked losing an ally by continuing to publicly criticise Islamabad's performance in the war against militancy.

Two weeks ago, militants launched an assault against the US embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul. US officials blamed those attacks on the Haqqani network.

US officials said there was intelligence, including intercepted phone calls, suggesting those attackers were in communication with people connected to the ISI.

Pakistan denies accusations it has ties with the Haqqanis. But analysts say it sees the powerful group as strategic asset in any future Afghan peace settlement.

(Read: Malik says CIA created Haqqani network)

Ungrateful partner

Like the government, Pakistanis say the United States is ungrateful even though Pakistan has lost thousands of soldiers and security forces fighting al Qaeda and other groups.

"America is oblivious to the fact that Pakistan has suffered the most in its war on terror campaign," said banker Hamza Khan.

"To allege that Pakistan is supporting the Haqqani network without providing solid evidence does not give it carte blanche to unilaterally attack or threaten Pakistan."

Pakistanis are quick to remind the United States that Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani network, was once one of Washington's best friends in the region.

He was a legendary mujahideen commander who worked with the Americans in the 1980s to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Jalaluddin even visited the White House when Ronald Reagan was president.

"Everybody knows who created the Haqqanis. They were created by the Americans in their fight against the Soviets," said Sheraz Ahmed, a computer dealer in the city of Multan.

"We will be happy if Pakistan stands up against the Americans, instead of the Haqqanis."

Sirajuddin Haqqani, who heads the group, says it is no longer based in Pakistan's North Waziristan and feels secure operating in Afghanistan.

The United States has long pressed Pakistan to launch a major offensive in North Waziristan to root out the Haqqanis.

Bowing to American demands would be politically risky for the already unpopular government.

Amina Ansari, who works in the energy sector in Karachi, says "corrupt leaders have already been bought out", and the United States actually wanted to destroy her country.

Foreign forces are due to hand over security responsibilities in Afghanistan in 2014.

Some Pakistanis argue their government had a right to maintain ties with powerful militant groups like the Haqqanis in Afghanistan, where its rival India is gaining influence.

"We need allies in Afghanistan like anyone else," said Sarmaz Faraz, a marketing consultant in Islamabad.

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