President Zardari has done well to seek suggestions from coalition partners and Mian Nawaz Sharif regarding how to effectively present Pakistans position while in the US. Perhaps, at no other time in the past were the inputs from allies and the mainstream opposition needed so desperately. Of late, the US has realised that North Waziristan rather than Afghanistan presently constitutes the hub of global terrorism. What riles it is that the Pakistan Army is unwilling to launch an operation in the agency. Another factor that has jolted American policy wonks is the spectre of surging extremism in Pakistan, dramatically revealing itself in the killing of Salmaan Taseer. The incident indicates to them that extremism has permeated even the security agencies. This naturally multiplies the gravity of the situation in the case of a country which possesses a nuclear arsenal. That the anti-US sentiment is also continuously on the rise aggravates the danger in the eyes of the American policy makers.
Vice President Joe Biden was in Islamabad to convey these concerns in the most effective way possible within diplomatic limits. He met the political leadership which Washington thinks is weak enough to deliver on its concerns even if it realises their gravity. He then took up the concerns with the army leadership which Washington believes is alone capable of addressing them. He held out assurances while he also conveyed his concerns but apparently failed to get anything beyond a promise of limited surgical strikes.
What should concern many Pakistanis is that the country today is facing an existential threat. Religious parties are using the issue of blasphemy, despite assurances from the prime minister that the law would not be changed, for political purposes. Sidelined in the 2008 elections and failing during the last three years to mobilise the public on any issue from rising prices to drone attacks, they think they have hit the jackpot now. As things stand, a minority is dictating things to the government and parliament. Unless the mainstream parties realise the threat, there is a likelihood of their being marginalised. There would be need for much more than a telephonic contact between the PPP and PML(N) in the days to come. They have to join hands to fight the rising tide of extremism to save not only the system but also Jinnahs Pakistan.
