Just say ‘sorry’

The apology the US Ambassador for the helicopter incursion has brought smiles to the faces of many of our politicians.

The apology from US Ambassador Anne Patterson for the Apache helicopter incursion on September 30 that killed at least two members of the Frontier Scouts and injured others has brought smiles to the faces of many of our political leaders. Combined with a slightly more carefully worded expression of regret for the loss of life from General David Petraeus, the commander of the US-led force in Afghanistan, the US admission of a mistake is being hailed as a kind of victory. Certainly, the statements offer at least some face-saving, and are something of a rarity given Washington’s consistent reluctance to apologise in the past. The determination to make friends in Pakistan apparently continues.

But the real question when apologies are made is almost always that of sincerity. The gesture, it must be said, is a welcome one. The diplomatic efforts made by Islamabad for this purpose seem to have worked. Credit for this must be given. But what good does an apology serve, when drone strikes continue in Waziristan and people continue to die as a result? It is also obvious from the attacks on some 50 tankers intended for Nato forces in Nowshera and Quetta that people remain intensely angry. Words, after all, need to be backed by deeds if they are to take us anywhere at all.

This, for now, does not seem to be the case. The issue of  US attacks inside Pakistan is a grave one. It concerns crucial questions of sovereignty and Pakistan’s standing in the international community. The matter is thus one that needs to be addressed very seriously. It is true Pakistan’s options are limited. But the apology should not be accepted as the last word and efforts continued to keep up pressure on Washington to reassess its strategy on incursions and make an effort to understand the damage this is inflicting in terms of its relationship with the people of Pakistan, whose hearts US officials insist they are eager to win over.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2010.