ISLAMABAD, 26 June 2003 — Pakistan’s Islamic opposition yesterday denounced a $3 billion US aid pledge secured by President Pervez Musharraf as a disgrace to the country and evidence of subservience to Washington.
The vice president of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s main Islamic party, said Musharraf had obtained “nothing” for the Pakistani people in his meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David on Tuesday.
Khursheed Ahmed added that Bush’s refusal to deliver 28 F-16 fighter aircraft under a stalled deal dating back to the 1990s was “actually a slap on our faces”.
“The $3 billion aid package is a disgrace for Pakistani people,” he said. “Musharraf has provided every support in the so-called war against terrorism, but in return what has he got? I would say nothing for the people of Pakistan.”
Ahmed accused Musharraf of pursuing a policy that made Pakistan “subservient” to Washington and said it was unclear how much of the package would go to important debt rescheduling.
“Even if one billion dollars of the package goes to debt rescheduling, then I would say Musharraf has compromised on peanuts,” he said. But analysts felt that the strong backing from the United States for Musharraf augurs well for the country’s fragile economy and will shore up his position at home against an opposition campaign to shake his grip on power.
Islamabad was delighted with US President George W. Bush’s pledge to work with Congress on an economic and military aid package for its anti-terror ally and independent opinion was also broadly appreciative of the results flowing from Tuesday’s Camp David talks.
Pakistan is attaching great importance to the impending Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said would mark a “very positive signal” to domestic and foreign investors.
Speaking on state-run television from Camp David, Aziz said he foresaw an era of free trade opening up between Pakistan and United States. “This is the beginning of a long-term strategic relationship which is of immense value to Pakistan as well as the United States,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in Islamabad.
Musharraf became the first Asian leader to be received by a US president at Camp David, which analysts said reflected the pivotal importance of Pakistan in the US war on terror in Afghanistan.
Political commentator Mohammad Afzal Niazi said Musharraf achieved “a lot of what Pakistanis wanted.”
“The outcome has been positive and it will strengthen Musharraf’s grip on power at home. He is bringing home goodies for the armed forces which is his base constituency,” Niazi said.
He said Bush’s refusal to comment on domestic politics would give his administration a “freer hand in dealing with the noisy domestic opposition”.
“It is a reasonably successful trip and it opens a relationship on a longer term basis and if this continues there will be more significant developments of partnership and cooperation,” said Hasan Askari, a leading expert on Pakistan-US relations and former head of Punjab University’s Political Science department.
