Some Reflections on the Prime Minister’s Visit to Washington
By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last visited a US president some fourteen years ago, it was on the US Independence Day, July 4, 1999. President Bill Clinton was in the White House and the prime minister of Pakistan had come on an urgent mission to seek the president’s intervention to avert a potentially catastrophic nuclear war with India over the Kargil conflict. He did not remain long as prime minister, however, and was overthrown three months later by General Pervez Musharraf, the army chief.
Nawaz Sharif’s latest visit to Washington was under less ominous circumstances. He was elected six months ago with a clear majority by the Pakistani electorate and, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, as he frequently reminded his audience here, he had taken office following a peaceful and orderly transition from one democratically elected Government to another. Even before he arrived, as a gesture of goodwill, the US released more than $1.6 billion in economic and military aid to Pakistan that had been frozen since 2011. The request for an additional $1.16 billion in next year’s budget is awaiting Congressional approval.
Even though the relationship with Pakistan over the years has been turbulent and contentious, the US extended the red carpet treatment to Sharif, welcoming him to the White House with a marine honor guard lining up to greet him. On October 20, the day he arrived, he was invited to an official dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry at the lavish State Department dining room. The following day, he was the guest of Vice President Joseph Biden at a breakfast meeting at his official residence, the three-storied, imposing Victorian-style mansion on the naval observatory grounds. While her husband conducted official business, Begum Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, who holds a doctorate in Urdu poetry and literature, was entertained by the first lady, Michelle Obama, and the vice president’s wife, Dr Jill Biden, as the guest of honor at a poetry and tea party reception.
The electronic media did not give much coverage to the visit; Washington, after all, is used to frequent comings and goings of world leaders. Besides, the country is absorbed in its own internal problems, the furor caused by eavesdropping on foreign leader’s conversation, and the relentless ongoing partisan battles on the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Law. However, the coverage of the prime minister’s visit in the print media was substantial. The Washington Post, normally a dour publication that strongly supported the US invasion of Iraq, lamented in an editorial that since Nawaz Sharif took over “little has changed in the security matters most important to the United States.” Yet, it expressed the optimism, that “the display of relative competence offers hope that he (Nawaz Sharif) may eventually join with the military in adopting a more rational policy towards the Taliban and other Islamist militants.”
The liberal New York Times confined itself to dissecting the nature of the rocky relationship between the two countries, while severely chastising the Obama administration in an editorial for its excessive reliance on drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan and the Yemen, urging a policy of “greater transparency and accountability” to avoid innocent and civilian loss of life. Pakistan’s clear unhappiness on the drone attacks received some support in a report from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that coincided with the Sharif visit, detailing significant civilian causalities, resulting from the drone strikes. Another controversy, meanwhile, arose following an embarrassing report from the Washington Post, revealing that the drone strikes were carried out with the tacit approval and knowledge of the previous Pakistani Government.
The highlight of Sharif’s visit was the 90-minitute oval office meeting with the US president and vice president. It had been speculated that the meeting would be difficult for both sides. Several contentious issues have recently bedeviled the relationship between Pakistan and the US, the most important irritant being the extensive use of drones in the tribal regions of Pakistan. The peace negotiations with Taliban in Afghanistan, the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US marines and the accidental killing of two dozen Pakistani soldiers by US airstrikes have all contributed to an uneasy relationship. In their remarks after their oval office meeting, however, the tensions were couched in the usual diplomatic language. While the prime minister, reading from a prepared text, listed the issue of drone strikes as his major concern, the president did not mention it, giving no hint that he planned to order a halt.
Nawaz Sharif addressed only two public meetings here. One was at a gathering of Pakistani-Americans at a local hotel and the other to a packed audience, comprising mostly young American professionals, at the prestigious United States Institute of Peace. In a prepared statement, he emphasized the need for good relations with India, remarking, “ Had our two countries not wasted their precious resources in a never-ending arms race, we would not only have avoided the futile conflicts, but also emerged as stable and prosperous nations.” Mr Sharif seemed to be having some throat irritation problems as he needed to clear his throat repeatedly while reading his statement. Overall, he came across as poised and his delivery went smoothly. It is unfortunate that there was no opportunity for the audience to ask questions, and Jim Marshall, President of the Institute, only asked a few “soft” questions.
It is unclear whether the visit will yield any tangible benefits. Any hopes of lasting goodwill between Pakistan and US generated by the prime minister’s visit were attenuated by the furious reaction in Pakistan, especially of Imran Khan and his associates to the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of Pakistani Taliban, by a US drone. Imran Khan lately has been at the forefront in stroking anti-Americanism in Pakistan. More surprising was the public outburst of the Interior minister, against the US, condemning the drone attack. The paradoxical reaction was a surprise. Hakimullah Mehsud was a known target of US drones and had a $5 million bounty on his head. He had killed and maimed far more Pakistanis than Americans, including brutal beheadings of Pakistani soldiers in his captivity. Elevating him to the status of a hero is beyond comprehension.
Ultimately, Mr. Nawaz Sharif will be judged not by the success or failure of his foreign trips, but by his ability to effectively deal with domestic problems -- the energy shortage, the economic difficulties, and importantly, the Taliban insurgency that threatens the very foundation of the Pakistani state.
Back to Pakistanlink Homepage
