‘The US is committed to stay’

New US Ambassador Cameron Munter pledges to stick with Pak, Afghanistan.


Gibran Peshimam October 30, 2010

KARACHI:



A change of face more often than not means a change in strategy. While this may not be apparent in the short while the new United States’ Ambassador to Pakistan has been in the country, there were some hints during his first press conference since he took the post.

Addressing media at the residence of the US Consul-General in Karachi on Friday, Cameron Munter – the US’ new point man in perhaps the most strategically important country in the world currently – said that President Barrack Obama’s policy of pulling out of Afghanistan was being “misinterpreted”.

“We are committed to the success of Afghanistan, as we are to Pakistan,” said the ambassador, adding that there would probably be a “change in face” but not a “withdrawal”.

“We are committed to stay,” he asserted again – not only because the US has promised Afghanistan, but because they have promised Pakistan.

The statement is significant on many counts.

Firstly, there is a very palpable apprehension in Pakistan that, with the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, there will be a shift in Washington’s focus from the region. That would have meant diminishing Pakistan’s strategic importance.

And that takes us back to the 80s, when the US’s intimate ideological alliance came to an abrupt end following the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan. And with the shifty relations between Washington and Islamabad and the arrival of a new point man, this fear was as real as it gets.

As expected, this question was posed. What about history, Mr Ambassador?

Munter chose to assuage these doubts with evidence, rather than just rhetoric.

He pointed to multi-year programmes that the US has embarked upon in Pakistan. “We don’t have these with all countries – it is unusual.” He added that, even if the US was thinking of a rethink, “We are committed by our legislation.” Referring to the Kerry-Lugar Act and military aid programmes, the Ambassador said that the US has “written it [supporting Pakistan] in our law.”

Effectively, the ambassador’s first speech in Pakistan was laced with assurances – fresh assurances from a new face.

He empahsised that his mission and that of the Obama administration was to, “represent diplomatically, but represent from the heart.” Downplaying differences between Washington and Islamabad, Munter said that the US didn’t expect Pakistan to listen to everything it said. “Friends can disagree.”

He also commented on the constant calls to “do more” – an expression that strikes a sour note in Pakistan. Recognising that the expression was insensitive and curt, he said that the same request can be explained and worded differently. He also spoke of the perceived dislike that Pakistanis have for the US. “I don’t think that the Pakistanis don’t like us – I don’t believe that,” he said, adding that there was instead “healthy scepticism.”

He spoke at length about how the US was looking to engage all sections of Pakistani society, and not just the political leadership. On the issue of the Coalition Support Fund, he said that reimbursement was a long and cumbersome process, but added that the US had committed $700 million at the recently concluded strategic dialogue.

The ambassador said that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and ROZs were also discussed at length during the dialogue. “We’re a little embarrassed because the Europeans are ahead of us [in terms of the FTA]; we like to think we are the dynamic ones.”

He said that US was optimistic about the future of Pakistan, especially Karachi, with its big business and major port. Munter also attached great importance to President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to the US next year, saying that significant progress had been made in each of the 13 working groups. On the power front, he said that the plan to build a 150 MW wind farm in Sindh under private-public partnership will soon be completed.

On the floods, the ambassador said that the US was committed to helping Pakistan, pointing out that US flood relief efforts had delivered over 20 million pounds of supplies to the affected and rescued 23,000 people since August 5.

However, he added, it was not only about immediate need, but the way forward. He stressed that while the US was leading the global assistance effort to Pakistan, they would follow Pakistan’s plan, and not impose their own.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2010.


COMMENTS (9)

Mahvesh Ayyaz | 13 years ago | Reply @Sarfraz Hussain Naqvi
We in Pakistan perceive that USA feels comfortable with INDIA as against Pakistan.. We in Pakistan blame ALL the social ills in our society on others. We in Pakistan love to blame the corruption that infest the nation on others. We in Pakistan think terrorists are created by Pakistani enemies to destroy Pakistan. We in Pakistan believe that the health of Pakistan is the result of the rest of the world. We in Pakistan can make excuses for the health of the nation by blaming others. We in Pakistan refuse to accept personal responsibility for our actions. We in Pakistan believe that by playing the victim card we are get ahead. We in Pakistan refuse to accept that terrorist find us a perfect breeding ground to grow. We in Pakistan have decided to live in a bubble - reality does not happen. Please add to the list at your will, if you have any left
Sarfraz Hussain Naqvi | 13 years ago | Reply We in Pakistan perceive that USA feels comfortable with INDIA as against Pakistan while operating in this region. This perception is based on both some intangible and some tangible factors. India can (and does) serve as a big market capable of pumping billions of $s in to USA economy while Pakistan CANNOT do so. INDIA is a natural USA ally when viewed in Chinese perspective while Pakistan stands on other side of the fence. India can (and does rather has) harm(ed) Pakistan in a big way through the terrorists operating in Tribal areas and elsewhere in Pakistan. She has done it and in such a way that USA too treats Pakistan guilty of sponsoring terrorism. Extremely cleverly, India has made the Americans (rather the entire lot of Westerners) believe that Pakistan is the root cause of terrorism in the whole world. Planting a few Pakistani looking young persons, who happen to have links in Pakistan, to undertake terrorism related actions in order to malign Pakistan is a very common tactics of RAW. It is only wisdom that can help USA and the Western World to think positively and in the best interest of their people to see to it that they DO NOT fall prey to INDIAN shrewed strategy in this region.
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ