With President Obama and Secretary Clinton holding urgent talks at the White House with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, it seems as though the Pakistani press considers the events now unfolding in that country to be the responsibility of others – nor is there much sign the American aid to that country is appreciated.
According to this editorial from The Frontier Post, a newspaper literally on the front lines along the Afghan border in Quetta, the capital of the strife-torn province of Baluchistan, the Americans are not only unreliable partners, but the aid we offer comes with too many strings, only serves the interests of the United States, and has ‘hypnotized’ the country’s leaders and intelligentsia.
“What opiate have our public officials and intellectuals consumed that they live in such an exuberant trance, while the Americans do such a merry dance so freely on our backs? It’s something like a master swatting a slave with all manner of indignities and insults, and the slave taking the punishment submissively without even a whine. The Americans, one and all, are demonizing our army and ISI without any restraint. They are throwing dirt on our elected officials in heaps. And with their bought and paid for shills, they [the Americans] are spreading fear around the globe that our nuclear assets are insecure and could fall in terrorists’ hands.
“Furthermore, much of our intellectual elite, loathsome though it may be, love being zealous mouthpieces of and active campaigners for the insulting inanities of Washington. A queer air of ebullience is sweeping the government and intellectual gentry over legislative moves in the U.S. Congress to provide the puny economic assistance of $1.5 billion a year over the next five years. None are even a tad worried, despite President Barack Obama’s impudent, imperial tone, that such checks will not be written for free. Nor do any of them seem a wee bit chastened by the inexorable reality that in the American calculus there’s no free lunch.”
We also posted this editorial from Pakistan’s The Nation headlined To Reduce Militancy, the U.S. Must Pressure India, which blames India for much of the crisis in Pakistan and argues that if President Obama wants to reduce the level of militancy in Pakistan – he should stop showing favoritism to New Delhi and pay more attention to the decades-long confrontation over Kashmir and another long-standing dispute over water rights which the newspaper says is considered a more serious threat than the Taliban!
The Nation‘s editorial says in part:
“While President Obama counsels us not to regard India ‘as a mortal threat,’ New Delhi began holding military exercises on our eastern border. It’s a pity that the leader of the superpower has ceded to Indian pressure to modify his stance on the centrality of Kashmir in forging peace between our two countries. But there is little justification for Pakistan to overlook how the Indians conduct themselves. India and Pakistan have fought a number of wars and continue to have major disputes. Not only that, New Delhi is even now creating new realities meant to worsen matters for Islamabad. ”
“By constructing dams in the upper reaches of the Indus, India is diverting water against the explicit provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. This is extremely worrisome to Pakistan and serves as a constant reminder of Indian hostility. The water issue has been called a more serious threat than the Taliban.”
EDITORIAL
May 6, 2009
Pakistan – The Frontier Post – Home Page (English)
What opiate have our public officials and intellectuals consumed that they live in such an exuberant trance, while the Americans do such a merry dance so freely on our backs? It’s something like a master swatting a slave with all manner of indignities and insults, and the slave taking the punishment submissively without even a whine. The Americans, one and all, are demonizing our army and ISI without any restraint. They are throwing dirt on our elected officials in heaps. And with their bought and paid for shills, they [the Americans] are spreading fear around the globe that our nuclear assets are insecure and could fall in terrorists’ hands.
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