Tough tasks ahead for Pakistan's first woman FM
- By Muhammad Tahir, Yangtze Yan
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Xinhua, July 24, 2011
Pakistan's first woman and youngest foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar will face uphill tasks as the Islamic nation faces many challenges at the international front.
Khar, 34, was appointed as Pakistan's 26th foreign minister this week at a time when Islamabad's ties with the United States are sour over several key issues including the U.S. SEALs unilateral raid to kill Osama bin Laden on May 2.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani praised the new foreign minister on Tuesday when she took oath. But at the same time, Pakistan's main Islamic group Jamiat ulema-e-Islam criticized the appointment of Khar and called it the government's "unwise" decision.
The woman foreign minister would face hard time on foreign and internal fronts and will also have to remove the apprehensions of the strong opposition parties in the parliament and to counter the possible criticism from the Islamic groups.
Ties with the United States
The most difficult challenge Khar faces is how to bridge the trust gap with the United States. Washington's decision last week to block the 800 million USD aid to Pakistan military has widen the crack with Pakistan, which the United States considers as one of the non-NATO close allies.
On Friday, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill that would defund a 7.5 billion USD aid to Pakistan programme. This is considered a serious blow to the already strained relations between the two allies.
Critics say it is an opportunity for Pakistan to end dependence on American aid, but many in Pakistan believe that Washington has betrayed the Muslim nation at a time when it has lost 30,000 civilians and nearly 5,000 security personnel in the war on terror.
The majority in Pakistan have never supported Pakistan's alliance with the United States. They insist the country should go for regional approach to deal with the problems as they argue neighbors will stay here but the United States only serves its own interests.
The arrest of a Kashmir-born leader Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai in the United States this week and linking him to Pakistan's main intelligence agency has further deteriorated the relationship and Pakistan's Foreign Ministry slammed the malicious campaign against the country's intelligence agencies in the United States.
Some analysts believe the arrest and linking him with Pakistan' s spy agency is an act of revenge to teach lesson to Pakistan for its action against the U.S. agents in Pakistan. Relationship between the spy agencies of Pakistan and the U.S. are at lowest ebb when the anti-terror war continues and the is an act of revenge to teach lesson to Pakistan for its action against the U.S. agents in Pakistan. Relationship between the spy agencies of Pakistan and the United States are at lowest ebb as the anti- terror war continues and the U.S. needs Pakistan's cooperation.
The most difficult task for Pakistan's new foreign minister is to explore ways to remove the mistrust with the United States and to bring the normal ties back on track. This seems to be a complicated work as Islamabad has many valid arguments and reservations over the U.S. approach towards its allies and especially Pakistan.
The Pakistani leadership and the people in general were astonished when a CIA undercover agent Raymond Davis was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore in February after he ruthlessly shot dead two Pakistanis in cold-blooded murder. Davis action had unearthed a network of CIA secret agents in Pakistan.
Islamabad had asked Washington to provide details of its secret agents. The call caused mistrust between the intelligence agencies, and the mistrust still exists despite series of high level visits and series of talks.
Some analysts say Pakistan has always tried to keep good relationship with the United States on mutual respect to each other's sovereignty but the problem is with Washington, which many think, wants to pursue the relationship of master and servant.
Khar is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Minister conference in Bali, Indonesia to try to bury the hatchet. But analysts in Pakistan do not expect any breakthrough of the Khar-Clinton talks and insist that issues could be resolved only if the U.S. adopts fair attitude towards its allies.
