Honest Holbrooke Embarrasses Pakistani Government
By Ahmed Quraishi
Islamabad , Pakistan
President Obama’s special envoy Richard Holbrooke landed the pro-US Pakistani government in trouble when he told journalists that the issue of CIA-manned drones that have killed hundreds of innocent Pakistanis was not even raised in any one of his several meetings with senior Pakistani officials in the Pakistani capital.
Mr. Holbrooke’s terse answer during a briefing stunned Pakistanis who thought the controversial drones were at least the second most important issue on the government’s list after the issue of the refugees from the military operation against terrorists.
Not so, said Mr. Holbrooke. In answer to the question, he simply said the subject did not come up in two days of meetings in the Pakistani capital, where he met pretty much everyone except maybe the editor of this report.
Most people who watched the briefing on Pakistani TV news bulletins were shocked. After all, even theUnited Nations criticized the US for the huge number of innocent deaths and called for an investigation into American attacks.
This was quite bold compared to the position of the Pakistani government that did not even care to raise the issue with Holbrooke. CIA continues to attack innocent Pakistanis inside Pakistan even when almost three million innocent Pakistanis have become homeless in their own country.
Realizing this doesn’t look good, the government went into damage control. In less than a couple of hours from Holbrooke’s briefing, Foreign Office spokesman issued a statement saying, ‘The government and people of Pakistan are concerned about the drone attacks.’
At the same time, Prime Minister Gilani, who was strangely kept out of the meeting Holbrooke held with President Zardari and Foreign Minister Qureshi, came out to repeat the government’s position on the drones and how they don’t help the fight against terrorism.
Government’s spokespeople at various levels were on the defensive insisting that the issue was raised between Holbrooke and his Pakistani hosts.
So it basically comes down to this: One of the two, Holbrooke or the Pakistani government, is a liar.
We have every reason to believe that the liar here is the Zardari-Gilani government, and here’s why.
This is the second time that Mr. Holbrooke is seen in the Pakistani capital in a somber mood. His earlier gung-ho demeanor is missing.
The last time he was here, Pakistani officials gave him a tough time the like of which he has not seen in his recent illustrious career. Gone is the famous Holbrooke swagger. The so-called ‘Af-Pak’ is taking Holbrooke down. The man who came to office with admirers trumpeting his successes in Bosnia more than a decade ago seems to be humbled now by the complex nature of the American mess in Afghanistan.
Holbrooke was brutally honest in the press conference in Islamabad. The drone comment was one example. But there was another one. When a reporter asked him if the Pakistani military action in Swat has squeezed al Qaeda, Holbrooke surprised everyone by simply saying, ‘I don’t know.’ Reporters laughed when he added that he sat down in Washington ‘with the people who should know’ about this, a veiled reference to American spy agencies, and they didn’t know the answer to that question, he said, partly laughing.
This was a very clear-headed, humble and honest Holbrooke. He wouldn’t cover up for the Pakistani government or for CIA.
