City’s youth gives Obama a taste of what’s next: The Pakistan question

US president Barack Obama had to summon all his fabled oratorical skills when a 19-year-old girl from a Mumbai college shot point blank the question he had been able to evade since his arrival in the country.

“Why is Pakistan so important an ally that America has never called it a terrorist state so far?” asked Afsheen Irani, a second year student from HR College, during Obama’s interaction with students at St Xavier’s college on Sunday.

As the US president stitched together an answer, it left nobody convinced, least of all the political leadership in India. While parties have held back official comments for the moment, their disappointment was palpable.

Obama ended up almost reiterating what Pakistan has been stating in its defence all along. “There are more Pakistanis who have been killed by terrorists inside Pakistan than probably anywhere else,” he said, adding the Pakistan government understands the potential threat that exists within its own borders.

He said India had “the biggest stake” in a successful and stable Pakistan.

“The history between India and Pakistan is incredibly complex and born out of much tragedy and violence. So, it may be surprising, but I am absolutely convinced that the country that has the biggest stake in Pakistan’s success is India. If Pakistan is unstable, that’s bad for India. If Pakistan is stable and prosperous, that’s good for India,” he said.

The president was at his diplomatic best when he said Pakistan is an enormous country which is strategically important not just for the US, but for the world. It has some extremist elements, but they are not unique to Pakistan, he added.

“The Pakistan government is aware of it. We have been engaging aggressively with them to communicate that we want nothing more than a stable, prosperous and peaceful Pakistan,” said Obama.  

He added that “we will work with the Pakistani government in order to eradicate this extremism that we consider a cancer within the country that can potentially engulf it.” Obama, however, admitted that the “progress (by Islamabad) is not as quick as we would like it to be”.

While nudging India to begin a dialogue with Pakistan, first on less controversial issues and then on larger ones, Obama, however, ruled out US becoming part of India-Pakistan bilateral talks. “The US stands to be a partner and friend, but cannot impose the process,” he said.

He was quick to add that he would “discuss counter-terrorism and other issues in greater detail when I meet with the prime minister (Manmohan Singh)” giving hope that the joint statement may make some suitable amends to the stated position.

Neither the ministry of external affairs nor the home ministry nor the prime minister’s office was ready give a response to Obama’s comment. Minister of state Jyotiraditya Scindia told a TV channel that “we should wait for some more time before forming any opinion”.
 
The Congress, too, maintained a studied silence and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a virtual gag order on its leaders, prohibiting them from making any comments on Obama and Pakistan.

While Prakash Javdekar, BJP spokesman, said that ahead of Sushma Swaraj’s meeting with Obama, the party would not make any comments, it was clear that the leader would raise the issue in a big way in her 20-minute scheduled meeting.

A large number of defence and security experts denounced Obama’s views on Pakistan and terrorism. Ajeet Doval, a former Intelligence Bureau chief who handled Pakistan, former army chief VP Malik and defence expert Maroof Raza made clear their disapproval.

As for Irani, she seemed to be sympathetic to the compulsions of Obama. “He was very diplomatic in his reply, but understandably he had a lot of limitations as he is the president of US. He couldn’t possibly take a stand,” she said.