President Zardari in New York
President Zardari was treated like just another head of state visiting New York to attend the UN General Assembly session. It was maintained that President Obama would not be able to meet him because he was too busy in election related engagements. Speaking before the General Assembly Zardari highlighted Pakistan’s sacrifices in the ongoing fight against the militants and recorded his protest over the blasphemous film. He also wistfully referred to the red carpet treatment given by the West to military rulers in the past. Secretary Clinton was the sole high ranking US official to call on the president. This indicates where Washington currently places its erstwhile non-Nato strategic ally.
Foreign Minister Hina Khar has held talks with Hillary Clinton and also discussed bilateral ties with a number of US officials. Khar told media that she felt there was a better realization in the US regarding the negative fallout of drone strikes in Pakistan. A study by Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law is no doubt critical of the strikes. The perception however is yet to be shared by the administration. A drone strike killed three in North Waziristan while Khar was still in New York. There was no word about an agreed document avowedly setting the terms for future cooperation supposed to be in the offing. There were also reports about joint effort being planned to draw the Taliban toward peace talks in Afghanistan. Again, the results achieved are yet to be made public. Zardari also attended a second tripartite summit with Karzai and David Cameron besides holding bilateral meetings with the Afghan president and British prime minister. A positive signal however was that the House Foreign Affairs Committee rejected a proposal to cut off all aid to Pakistan. Many think the bill in its current form would still impose tighter controls over aid, making it contingent on measurable progress by Pakistan. The Pak-US ties still need a lot of mending.
There is a need to pay heed to the words of former US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter. Advising both US and Pakistan to come out of the competing narratives that fault the other for failures in the relationship, he said relations must build on a mutual “desire for marriage, not a one-night stand. “The visit by high-powered delegation led by Deputy Chief of General Staff of China’s People Liberation Army is welcome. The forthcoming visit by Vladimir Putin would in fact constitute a landmark event opening yet another window of opportunity for Pakistan. Relations with the US however remain most vital for the country. Attention should be paid to them before the damage becomes irreparable.
