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Neo · 10-08-2009, 08:00 PM

‘US military hardware not reserved for Pakistan’

Friday, 09 Oct, 2009

WASHINGTON: US military hardware is not reserved for Pakistan and can be given to other countries in South Asia as well, warns a powerful American lawmaker Gary Ackerman.

Ackerman, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, was riled by Pakistan’s reaction to the Kerry-Lugar bill, calling it an indication that the Pakistanis did not want friendship with the United States.

‘If Pakistan doesn’t want us as a partner, that’s up to them,’ said Ackerman in a statement distributed by his office. 'But should they take such a decision, they should do so knowing full well that our military assistance, advanced technology and intelligence cooperation are not gifts, but the specific consequences of our cooperation.

‘They should likewise, be aware that these things are not reserved for them and that American interests in South Asia are not limited to just Pakistan. We don’t sell F-16s and Harpoon missiles to just anyone.’

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Mehmood Shah Qureshi tried to portray a widespread Pakistani perspective before an audience of US scholars and policy-makers.

He said that Pakistan’s current predicament was shaped by past cooperation with the US in the covert war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Pakistan ended up sheltering millions of Afghan refugees and still had three million Afghan refugees, Qureshi said.

It also has suffered blowback in the form of a growing internal jihadi threat. And Pakistanis perceive that they were abandoned by the US after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Qureshi said.

But so far no effort has been made, either by the Pakistani embassy or visiting Pakistani officials, to explain the Pakistani reaction to the Americans.

Instead, embassy officials spend most of their time warning Pakistanis that if they continued this ‘unreasonable and illogical’ attitude ‘they may end up losing America’s friendship.’

In the absence of a proper explanation, most US officials and lawmakers continued to be perplexed by the Pakistani reaction to a bill they see as a ‘great friendly gesture from the US for Pakistan and its people,’ as Senator John Kerry, one of the co-sponsors of the bill said.

‘Shell-shocked,’ said a senior member of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s delegation that held talks with US officials in Washington this week when asked to describe the US response to the Pakistani reaction.

10-08-2009, 08:00 PM	#20 (permalink)
Neo Administrator Lt. General Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 8,954 Thanks: 514 Thanked 447 Times in 371 Posts	Re: Pak-US Relationship ‘US military hardware not reserved for Pakistan’ Friday, 09 Oct, 2009 WASHINGTON: US military hardware is not reserved for Pakistan and can be given to other countries in South Asia as well, warns a powerful American lawmaker Gary Ackerman. Ackerman, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, was riled by Pakistan’s reaction to the Kerry-Lugar bill, calling it an indication that the Pakistanis did not want friendship with the United States. ‘If Pakistan doesn’t want us as a partner, that’s up to them,’ said Ackerman in a statement distributed by his office. 'But should they take such a decision, they should do so knowing full well that our military assistance, advanced technology and intelligence cooperation are not gifts, but the specific consequences of our cooperation. ‘They should likewise, be aware that these things are not reserved for them and that American interests in South Asia are not limited to just Pakistan. We don’t sell F-16s and Harpoon missiles to just anyone.’ Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Mehmood Shah Qureshi tried to portray a widespread Pakistani perspective before an audience of US scholars and policy-makers. He said that Pakistan’s current predicament was shaped by past cooperation with the US in the covert war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Pakistan ended up sheltering millions of Afghan refugees and still had three million Afghan refugees, Qureshi said. It also has suffered blowback in the form of a growing internal jihadi threat. And Pakistanis perceive that they were abandoned by the US after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Qureshi said. But so far no effort has been made, either by the Pakistani embassy or visiting Pakistani officials, to explain the Pakistani reaction to the Americans. Instead, embassy officials spend most of their time warning Pakistanis that if they continued this ‘unreasonable and illogical’ attitude ‘they may end up losing America’s friendship.’ In the absence of a proper explanation, most US officials and lawmakers continued to be perplexed by the Pakistani reaction to a bill they see as a ‘great friendly gesture from the US for Pakistan and its people,’ as Senator John Kerry, one of the co-sponsors of the bill said. ‘Shell-shocked,’ said a senior member of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s delegation that held talks with US officials in Washington this week when asked to describe the US response to the Pakistani reaction.