President Barack Obama has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a visit to the United States, according to a media report on Thursday. The dates for the visit are still being worked out though an unnamed Pakistani diplomat in Islamabad was quoted by the Dawn newspaper as saying that the visit is expected to take place towards the end of October. Another Pakistani diplomat in Washington told the daily that one purpose of Obama’s invitation is to boost Sharif’s government, which is “seemingly under growing pressure from the military, particularly with respect to its India policy”. Sharif’s visit to the US will be separate from his trip to New York in September to participate in the UN General Assembly session. Obama and Sharif will co-chair a summit on peacekeeping on the sidelines of the General Assembly. There has been no official announcement from the White House regarding Obama’s invitation.This will be Sharif’s second visit to the White House during his current tenure. He visited the US in October 2013, when he and Obama reset ties after a downturn in recent years.The Pakistani diplomat in Islamabad was quoted as saying that Sharif’s upcoming visit is meant to expand and deepen bilateral ties. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, has been spotted in Washington this week, meeting with different US Senators, lobbying for his country. Alas, the only major point of discussion was the state of the military relationship with a special focus on defense and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Although operation Zarb-e-Azb is lauded by top American Generals in Afghanistan, US Senators seem less than satisfied at the efforts made by Pakistan on the militancy front. The question is, will America ever see us for anything other than a tool to fight its enemies in the region? The Kerry-Lugar-Bergman Act, which was signed between US and Pakistan, stated that $1. 5 billion in non-military aid would be provided between 2010-2014. However, the amount of money released from Washington has seen a steady decrease, while military funding has seen a rise, with $337 Million arriving next week under the Coalition Support Fund.A total of $13 Billion has been reimbursed to Pakistan since 2001. Pakistani diplomats have to mull over some hard questions. When the Indian lobbyists are so successful in pushing their agendas forward in the Capitol Hill, we can only mumble our continued dedication towards fighting militancy in Pakistan.The White House is appreciating Pakistan’s new policy, but it will take time to overcome years of mistrust. And quite a number of American lawmakers are still not satisfied with Pakistan’s progress in this war against terrorism. Congressman Ed Royce, who heads the House Foreign Relations Committee, was pretty blunt recently, asking Pakistan to hand over Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi to India or The Hague. Lawmakers have also criticised a Pakistani court’s decision to free suspects from Malala Yousafzai’s attack for lack of evidence. These setbacks from Tariq Fatemi’s recent lobbying trip to Washington were not widely reported in the local press, but there will be tough questions, along with a lot of praise, when Nawaz is in Washington again.
pk.shafaqna.com
