PAKISTANIS barely had a chance to celebrate their fledgling return to democracy before the US sent two senior diplomats, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, to remind them of the heavy hand the US has played in Pakistani politics as of late. As if to put an exclamation point to their presence, The Washington Post has quoted unnamed US officials as saying that the US is escalating attacks on Al-Qaeda strongholds in Pakistan out of fear that US ally President Pervez Musharraf is likely to lose power and influence as the new government solidifies. Although Musharraf has said that unauthorized military actions on Pakistani soil would be treated as an invasion, it is widely believed that he has agreed to allow the Americans to launch strikes as long as foreigners, as opposed to Pakistani Taleban, are targeted. Indeed, some 45 Arab, Afghan and other foreign fighters are believed to have been killed by US strikes in the past three months with nary a note of protest from the Musharraf government. Not even a week has passed since Pakistan got itself a new prime minister, so it seems a bit out of the question to expect the new government to issue a fully articulated policy on how best to fight terrorism, either globally or domestically. One thing is clear, however, and that is that Pakistan has as much, if not more, of a vested interest in fighting terrorism as Washington. While nothing as spectacular as 9/11 has occurred on Pakistani soil, the number of dead from terrorist attacks there is steadily mounting. The US approach of bombs, bombs and more bombs does not seem to have paid off for Pakistan. If anything, it has provoked even more attacks. The US mantra of “if we don't fight them there, we'll be fighting them at home” ignores the fact that “there” is also the home of living, breathing human beings. New prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told US President George W. Bush this week that a broader approach to the “war on terror” is necessary, including political solutions. And former premier Nawaz Sharif, referring to recent suicide bombings, told the visiting diplomats that Pakistan would not become a “murder-house” for the sake of US policy. For more than seven years now, the Bush White House has been deaf to the reasoning and concerns of the rest of the world. A leopard doesn't change its spots, but, fortunately, the US does change administrations. Maybe the next one will be a better partner for peace in Pakistan. __
