Haqqani urges US not to walk away from region again

WASHINGTON: Sounding a note of caution, Islamabad's envoy to Washington has said the United States suffered serious consequences as a result of walking away from Afghanistan and Pakistan after the Soviet pullout in 1989 and urged that the mistake should not be repeated.




Ambassador Husain Haqqani was a speaker at the US Senate on a discussion on "Fighting Insurgencies with Laptops" organised on Wednesday by the OLPC (One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organisation). He unequivocally stated that Pakistan should not be bracketed with Afghanistan. He stressed that Afghanistan is a very close brotherly friend of Pakistan and its neighbour. However, Pakistan's strength and assets were tangible and formidable. He stressed that the term 'Af-Pak' was "unwarranted and counter to the geo-political realities."




Haqqani remarked that the United States was spending thirty times more on per capita basis in a war in Afghanistan than what it was spending on Pakistan. "Similarly, the United States was spending 8 times more on its non-military assistance to Afghanistan as compared with its spending on Pakistan," he pointed out.




The diplomat hoped that United States would truly acknowledge the countless contributions made by Pakistan in the war against terrorism and recognise the country as its true ally in the South Asian region. The US, he hoped, would also assist Pakistan in achieving its development goals.




He said the Friends of Democratic Pakistan summit being held in New York next week will affirm world powers' support for Pakistani efforts to tide over economic and security challenges confronting the nation.




Haqqani said the September 24 summit - to be co-chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari, US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown - is going to be a landmark event as it will bring together top leaders from 26 countries and international organisations on the occasion of UN General Assembly session.




The envoy underscored that Pakistan has a strong case for continued international backing as its problems have roots in the world-supported effort when it helped fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1980s and now the country is spearheading the fight against extremism. "Pakistan's elected democratic government, its brave armed forces and the people are unanimous in their belief that terrorism is a threat to the country and that the efforts against the menace are not meant to please anybody but they are aimed at ensuring our own security and safety," he stated.




"In fact, Pakistan and its army are in the lead role in this fight." Among prominent participants at FoDP summit will be prime ministers of Spain, Norway, Denmark, Japan and top leaders from Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.




"All these countries stand for security, stability and prosperity of Pakistan and their participation will reassure the Pakistani nation of their support." "The summit will help remove apprehensions that the world will once again abandon the country, as had been the case in the past," he said in reference to United States and world powers' abandoning Afghanistan and Pakistan after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989.




"Since we have sacrificed so much in the fight against terrorism - our soldiers have laid down their lives, we have incurred economic losses to the tune of $ 35 billion - Pakistan is absolutely justified in expecting sustained cooperation to get rid of the problems afflicting it - the solution to problems, that were born of an international effort, lies in an international effort."




The summit, he said, will focus on international cooperation with Pakistan in political, economic and security fields. "The world cannot ignore Pakistan's security concerns." The summit will also be an opportunity to remind the major economic powers of the pledges they made to Pakistan at Tokyo earlier this year. "Yet, this is not a donors' conference and nor are we holding any begging bowl in our hands. What we want is concerted international cooperation to get rid of the problems that the country has gone through in the wake of the international fight against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan," the ambassador said. Islamabad, he said, is appreciative of the international help it has received but argued it must get much greater support.




In this context, he pointed out that the United States was spending 30 times more on per capita basis in a war in Afghanistan than what it was spending on Pakistan. "Similarly, the United States was spending eight times more on its non-military assistance to Afghanistan as compared to its spending on Pakistan."