Pakistans gains in the Raymond affair are a big No. They have celebrated his release by killing scores of Pakistanis through drone attacks and suicide bombings.
We have not only lost our daughter, Shumaila, but also her city, Faisalabad has witnessed the bloodiest bombing what to talk of Dr Aafia. The affair has brought the mutual mistrust between the CIA and the ISI to the fore. The President, the PM, the CM of Punjab, the Chief of Army, and the chief of ISI are discredited.
The claim that even the Diyat money is not paid by the Americans is yet another slap on our face. The agreement that next time the CIA would take the ISI into confidence before sending its agents to Pakistan for operations is absurd. The nation is humiliated. The justification being made that the families of the victims had the prerogative to accept the mercy plea in exchange of Diyat and Qisas money is not appropriate.
On the other hand, the Raymond has managed to successfully discredit all major political parties and their leaders. They have managed to discredit the civilian governments, military establishment, judiciary as well as the agencies.
Now when all has been done, the mistrust between the Americans and their CIA must have been removed against Pakistanis and their ISI but this has not happened, rather it has further widened. But why the case was settled all of sudden without doing much of the homework, again through media, to tone down the tempers? The mismanaged affair ended in disgrace to the nation, the families, the judiciary, the security establishment and above all Pakistan.
MARYA MUFTI
Lahore
