Pakistan turning away from bald eagle and towards red dragon
Pakistan is turning away from the US and looking east for its future partnerships, with the president now firming up the country’s friendship with China.
Asif Ali Zardari hailed the strengthening ties between the two countries on Saturday as he met with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo. The senior official was visiting Pakistan to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and the conclusion of the China-Pakistan Friendship Year.
The visit came shortly after Beijing and Islamabad finalized a $1.6 billion currency swap agreement which will allow the two countries to boost their trade relations and decrease the involvement of the dollar. Currently China-Pakistan trade stands at $10 billion a year, but Dai has called for that figure to be increased to $15 billion over the next three to four years.
China is strengthening its role as a regional leader, and Pakistan is among key targets for Beijing’s influence building strategy. It is investing in a number of big construction projects in the country, including the Karakorum Highway and Gwadar Port, both of which will improve China’s transport links with energy-rich Gulf nations. It will also help Pakistan develop its nuclear power industry.
The Chinese army also regularly performs joint war games with Pakistani forces. Islamabad is seeking China’s military support against its long-time rival, India, while China needs a stable and well-defended Pakistan to stop any future incursion into its territory of extremists from volatile Afghanistan.
The visit comes as Pakistan distances itself from its long-time strategic ally, the US. The year 2011 was a difficult one for relations between Islamabad and Washington, with a number of incidents contributing to the deterioration. The downward spiral started in January when a CIA contractor killed two men but later evaded punishment because families of the victims were paid blood money. The case caused anger in Pakistan when the US said the perpetrator had diplomatic immunity and demanded his release.
In May, US commandos raided Pakistan’s territory and killed Ossama bin Laden, who had been living in the country for several years. Islamabad was given no warning of the operation, which angered the Pakistani military. Washington said if it had informed Pakistan’s government in advance, the Al-Qaeda leader would have been alerted, enabling him to escape.
In November, a US air strike on a Pakistani border post killed 24 troops who were mistaken for Taliban militants. It took the Pentagon a month to reluctantly admit their part of the blame for the deadly mistake and offer apologies. However, the Pakistani military do not appear to consider the case closed.
The Americans also have their share of grudges against Pakistan, from the alleged embezzlement of military aid to alleged support for Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, to harboring bin Laden. With relations between the allies deteriorating, Pakistan has more and more incentive to turn away from the US as its key partner and side with China, which challenges American influence in the region.
............................................................................................
Imran rocks Karachi:
They came, they saw, he conquered
As Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) continues to swell both in size and stature, so do the suspicions around the party’s ‘genuineness’ persist with political rivals and critics wary of the establishment’s role behind Imran Khan’s unstoppable rise.
“PTI is getting closer to the establishment with every passing day,” alleged Mushahidullah Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-N’s (PML-N) information secretary.
“Suspicions about its genuineness have gained momentum with the induction of over thirty-five seasoned politicians in PTI.” Many of the recruited politicians worked with former president Pervez Musharraf, he added, hinting that it was telling of the party’s close ties with the security establishment.A part from Imran’s critics, some political analysts believe that each and every party to enter the political sphere has remained under the hood of the establishment in the past. PML-N MNA Khawaja Asif even once admitted in a television talk show that his party was a tool in the hands of the establishment in the late 80s and early 90s.
“Currently it is hard to find evidence whether parts of the establishment are proactively supporting PTI or not,” said political writer and human rights campaigner Harris Khalique. But the patterns in which Imran Khan is being propped up are comparable, if not entirely similar, to instances in the past when parties ranging from the Convention Muslim League in 1962 to the PML-Q in 2002, he added.
“The establishment, supported by the urban-affluent-middleclass sentiment, wants the incumbent government out at any cost and Imran wants to be in power at the earliest.
”Some pundits, like Khalique, believe that that Imran, who is now 59, is too ambitious to wait for another two electoral cycles.
“This is exactly the reason Imran is embracing the Qureshis, Kasuris, the Legharis, the Mehrs and the Tammans,” said Haris Khalique.
Muddassir Rizvi of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) observed, “Perception is more important than reality in politics.”
Although Fafen has yet to gauge the political atmosphere in the country, the question over whether Imran was being propped up by the establishment still remains inclusive, Rizvi said.
PTI Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood, however, rejected the allegations by Imran’s critics, terming them a futile effort to decrease his rising popularity. In the past, he said, “Every political party remained a part of the establishment.”
Ishaq Khan Khakwani, a former federal minister in Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet, who has also recently joined PTI, said the establishment was not capable of amassing people for Imran’s rallies.
“PTI enjoys public support rather than the support of the establishment,” conceding that even though that was the case, the establishment has always been vital in creating a government and sometimes also in achieving its desired results in elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2011.
Pakistan is turning away from the US and looking east for its future partnerships, with the president now firming up the country’s friendship with China.
Asif Ali Zardari hailed the strengthening ties between the two countries on Saturday as he met with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo. The senior official was visiting Pakistan to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and the conclusion of the China-Pakistan Friendship Year.
The visit came shortly after Beijing and Islamabad finalized a $1.6 billion currency swap agreement which will allow the two countries to boost their trade relations and decrease the involvement of the dollar. Currently China-Pakistan trade stands at $10 billion a year, but Dai has called for that figure to be increased to $15 billion over the next three to four years.
China is strengthening its role as a regional leader, and Pakistan is among key targets for Beijing’s influence building strategy. It is investing in a number of big construction projects in the country, including the Karakorum Highway and Gwadar Port, both of which will improve China’s transport links with energy-rich Gulf nations. It will also help Pakistan develop its nuclear power industry.
The Chinese army also regularly performs joint war games with Pakistani forces. Islamabad is seeking China’s military support against its long-time rival, India, while China needs a stable and well-defended Pakistan to stop any future incursion into its territory of extremists from volatile Afghanistan.
The visit comes as Pakistan distances itself from its long-time strategic ally, the US. The year 2011 was a difficult one for relations between Islamabad and Washington, with a number of incidents contributing to the deterioration. The downward spiral started in January when a CIA contractor killed two men but later evaded punishment because families of the victims were paid blood money. The case caused anger in Pakistan when the US said the perpetrator had diplomatic immunity and demanded his release.
In May, US commandos raided Pakistan’s territory and killed Ossama bin Laden, who had been living in the country for several years. Islamabad was given no warning of the operation, which angered the Pakistani military. Washington said if it had informed Pakistan’s government in advance, the Al-Qaeda leader would have been alerted, enabling him to escape.
In November, a US air strike on a Pakistani border post killed 24 troops who were mistaken for Taliban militants. It took the Pentagon a month to reluctantly admit their part of the blame for the deadly mistake and offer apologies. However, the Pakistani military do not appear to consider the case closed.
The Americans also have their share of grudges against Pakistan, from the alleged embezzlement of military aid to alleged support for Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, to harboring bin Laden. With relations between the allies deteriorating, Pakistan has more and more incentive to turn away from the US as its key partner and side with China, which challenges American influence in the region.
............................................................................................
Imran rocks Karachi:
They came, they saw, he conquered
As Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) continues to swell both in size and stature, so do the suspicions around the party’s ‘genuineness’ persist with political rivals and critics wary of the establishment’s role behind Imran Khan’s unstoppable rise.
“PTI is getting closer to the establishment with every passing day,” alleged Mushahidullah Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-N’s (PML-N) information secretary.
“Suspicions about its genuineness have gained momentum with the induction of over thirty-five seasoned politicians in PTI.” Many of the recruited politicians worked with former president Pervez Musharraf, he added, hinting that it was telling of the party’s close ties with the security establishment.A part from Imran’s critics, some political analysts believe that each and every party to enter the political sphere has remained under the hood of the establishment in the past. PML-N MNA Khawaja Asif even once admitted in a television talk show that his party was a tool in the hands of the establishment in the late 80s and early 90s.
“Currently it is hard to find evidence whether parts of the establishment are proactively supporting PTI or not,” said political writer and human rights campaigner Harris Khalique. But the patterns in which Imran Khan is being propped up are comparable, if not entirely similar, to instances in the past when parties ranging from the Convention Muslim League in 1962 to the PML-Q in 2002, he added.
“The establishment, supported by the urban-affluent-middleclass sentiment, wants the incumbent government out at any cost and Imran wants to be in power at the earliest.
”Some pundits, like Khalique, believe that that Imran, who is now 59, is too ambitious to wait for another two electoral cycles.
“This is exactly the reason Imran is embracing the Qureshis, Kasuris, the Legharis, the Mehrs and the Tammans,” said Haris Khalique.
Muddassir Rizvi of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) observed, “Perception is more important than reality in politics.”
Although Fafen has yet to gauge the political atmosphere in the country, the question over whether Imran was being propped up by the establishment still remains inclusive, Rizvi said.
PTI Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood, however, rejected the allegations by Imran’s critics, terming them a futile effort to decrease his rising popularity. In the past, he said, “Every political party remained a part of the establishment.”
Ishaq Khan Khakwani, a former federal minister in Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet, who has also recently joined PTI, said the establishment was not capable of amassing people for Imran’s rallies.
“PTI enjoys public support rather than the support of the establishment,” conceding that even though that was the case, the establishment has always been vital in creating a government and sometimes also in achieving its desired results in elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2011.
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