Prime minister’s US visit

Prime minister’s US visit

Awami Awaz

IT is hoped that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s three-day visit to Washington will make the present government more steadfast in taking decisions on domestic as well as foreign policy matters. He is expected to meet President George Bush, the secretary of state, members of American think tanks and presidential candidate Barack Obama. He will hold talks on Pak-American relations, the war on terror, Pak-Afghan relations and other important issues. It is believed that the future of President Gen Musharraf and the restoration of the judges will also come under discussion.

If the prime minister succeeds in building a working relationship with the US, the government will be in a position to work in an undaunted manner. Otherwise dictatorship and undemocratic forces will prevail. Therefore, this visit is of the utmost importance and is an opportunity to strengthen ties between the US and the PPP.

A meeting of the coalition partners took place prior to the departure of the prime minister. In a briefing by Information Minister Sherry Rehman the press was apprised of the fact that a balanced outline for the talks has been worked out which will prove to be of mutual benefit to both countries and should be acceptable to the US.

Will Pakistan be able to use this opportunity to put forward the grievances of the populace? We believe that Pakistan should convey what the world expects from the US as a superpower. The prime minister should articulate the perception of the Pakistani people that the US is the root cause of all the problems in Pakistan. This is due to its unwavering support for undemocratic and unpopular forces which has damaged the image of the US, portraying it as an imperialist force.

The US might be a functioning democracy at home but in the rest of the world it is recognised as an imperialist and undemocratic country. The US should be informed that the world considers the 9/11 incident to be a farce, a drama played out to use force against Muslim countries on the pretext of terrorism…. The US previously promoted fundamentalism to contain the Soviet Union. The people of Pakistan consider the US responsible for creating obstacles in the way of democracy and extending support to undemocratic and dictatorial regimes.

If this impression is wrong, the US should cooperate with the elected government which should be allowed to carry on with its independent policies so that it may succeed in introducing a democratic system in accordance with the wishes of the people. Pakistan will have to convince the US that the solution to all the problems lies in democracy and through negotiations and that America should change its stance. — (July 27)

— Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.