No Party With The Blinds Down

Stung, the Pakistan People’s Party government promptly had its mission in Washington issue a statement: "The US should come forward to support the people of Pakistan in their dream of making Pakistan a strong and stable democracy, and an economically vibrant country—where human rights and dignity are respected." The statement subtly cautioned the Americans against returning to their bad old ways—of pampering military dictators and forging direct links with the military headquarters.

Islamabad, obviously, is nervous about Obama’s decision to commit more troops in Afghanistan. Once implemented, the harried militants would scurry across the porous Pak-Afghan border and worsen the prevailing insecurity in Pakistan’s tribal areas and beyond. Former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri made his disapproval clear to Outlook, "We have lived with eight years of Bush’s unilateralism. Look what it has left behind. The US economy has been destroyed, it’s engaged in two wars that the Americans can’t win. You can’t destroy the spirit of people ready to die."

About New Delhi’s apprehensions that Obama would link Kashmir to Afghanistan for greater cooperation from Pakistan, Kasuri says, "India has to be ready for an acceptable solution on Kashmir, a solution acceptable to all three parties—Pakistan, India and the Kashmiris. India, too, must accept the realities in the region." Mumbai apart, Kasuri says there has been progress in Indo-Pak relations, and backchannels were engaged to resolve the contentious Kashmir issue. "After all," he added, "you can’t party with the blinds down."

Former foreign secretary Riaz Khokar says the foreign office should clearly draw the red lines beyond which the Pakistan government wouldn’t venture. He told Outlook, "Too much is being read into Obama’s likely policies on Pakistan and the region. He’s in no position to completely reverse Bush’s policies. If Obama wants us to focus more on Afghanistan, he must ensure that India doesn’t indulge in adventurism." In other words, India must not exploit Mumbai or other such incidents to create tension on the Indo-Pak border. "As far as Kashmir goes," adds Khokar, "the situation there isn’t likely to get hot."

In his inaugural speech, Obama did not use the phrase "war on terror". As he talked of choosing "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord", many Pakistanis wondered whether his policies will also give them reasons to hope.