Selfish and stupid

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said that the US is a “selfish friend”. Pakistan trusting the US repeatedly can be categorised as a ‘stupid friend’.

Islamabad

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This refers to Sartaj Aziz’s statement that “America is a selfish friend”. Has Aziz just learnt about the fair weather nature of Uncle Sam? Has he forgotten the past when Washington deceived Islamabad on the eve of the East Pakistan debacle? Has he forgotten when ZA Bhutto was threatened by the then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger that Bhutto would be made an example of if he resorted to launching a nuclear programme in reaction to the Indian nuclear explosion in 1974? Has he forgotten the India-US civil nuclear technology deal in which Pakistan was ignored despite its severe energy crisis?

It was Pakistan that had stood with the US during the cold war era. And after 9/11, Islamabad once again extended unstinted support to Washington in the war against terror by putting its own internal peace and stability at stake. Thousands of its security personnel and civilians have lost their lives in this war on terror. But the reward we receive today is accusation and intimidation from the White House. Pakistan must review its foreign policy in the context of the current scenario and determine priorities in its own national interest rather than protecting the interests of the Americans.

Guldar Ali Khan Wazir

Lakki Marwat