Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani has said that the US is currently not very popular among the Pakistanis, as he asked Washington to work on changing the public opinion.
He also called for ensuring that the Pakistanis feel the benefits of the partnership between the two countries. In an interview with The Washington Times, Haqqani said the people in Pakistan for the last several years were not ready to consider the United States as a reliable friend ever since it walked away from Pakistan in the aftermath of the war with the USSR.
When asked about the steps necessary to mend the relationship, he said, “I think the US-Pakistan relationship has some strengths and many challenges. We are working on the challenges,” adding that the Americans should show patience to the emerging democratic process in Pakistan. “You cannot have the attitude that Pakistan should just do anything on demand whereas the American side while delivering anything for Pakistan has to go through a process.” “We need to show respect for each other’s people and then develop a partnership that is long-term,” he remarked.