US-Pakistan economic dialogue

The ongoing visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State for Statistics, Energy and Business Affairs, Daniel S. Sullivan, must be seen in the context of a meaningful effort on the part of the US administration to remain engaged in Pakistan's development efforts.
The joint communiqué at the end of the wide ranging discussions where Pakistan was represented by none other than the Finance Minister were rather general and no concrete agreement was reached with respect to specific actions. There was mention of the dialogue, deepening US-Pakistan economic partnership and further developing a long-term broad based economic relationship that mutually benefits the people of these two countries.
That the agenda was truly broad based is reflected by the range of topics discussed: from macroeconomic policy to labour to intellectual property rights (a subject more dear to the US than Pakistan), energy, agricultural co-operation, eliminating terrorism finance networks, reconstruction opportunity zones, FATA development etc.
The scale of US efforts to usher in development and the reasons behind them were articulated by President George Bush during his visit to Pakistan in March of 2006: "part of the tangible evidence of our relationship is the half a billion dollars commitment to help (Pakistan) rebuild; it's the $66 million last year to help implement the President's education initiative; it is the idea of developing reconstruction zones - trade zones in remote areas so that goods manufactured in those zones can get duty-free access to the US, on the theory that economic vitality and economic prosperity for people in remote areas of Pakistan will help defeat the terrorists and their hateful ideology."
With reference to energy President Bush made clear that during the meeting with Musharraf there was a discussion on "a civilian nuclear programme and I explained that Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories." Thus while he was willing to send the Secretary Energy over to work with Pakistan to help meet our severe energy needs yet he was unwilling to either extend the same deal as to India or endorse the IPI gas pipeline.
The result more than 2 years down the line is evident to all: Pakistan's energy crisis has reached alarming proportions, the reconstruction zones have not been heard of, education levels remain low and the lot of the tribals also remains unchanged. This unfortunately is in spite of significant US monetary assistance during the last two years.
Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs informed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development, Foreign Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection on December 6, 2007 that "since 2002 we have provided economic assistance totalling $2.4 billion.
These funds have supported education reform, including training teachers in modern teaching techniques, building schools in the Tribal Areas, providing scholarships and fostering science and technology co-operation between the US and Pakistan. We have also funded governance programmes designed to assist independent radio, reform political parties, train Parliament members in drafting laws, strengthen Pakistan's Election Commission, promote grass roots service delivery and reduce gender-based violence.
US-funded economic growth programmes have, among other things, worked to improve the competitiveness of Pakistani businesses, provided micro-finance and encouraged more effective agriculture techniques. We have also supported refugee programmes and funded rebuilding efforts following the October 2005 earthquake. Fighting terrorism is, of course, a pre-eminent goal of US policy in Pakistan. In support of that goal, since 2002 the United States has provided security assistance to Pakistan totalling $1.9 billion."
He added that the US had also begun to implement a five-year, $750 million development strategy for the frontier region that supports the Government of Pakistan's nine-year, $2 billion programme for the Tribal Areas' sustainable development. Given the scale and depth of US assistance the question does emerge as to why the US has such a poor image in the hearts and minds of the Pakistani people.
The answer is a range of US actions that include periodic attacks on our border areas with Afghanistan by the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan and the resulting collateral damage, support for Musharraf which locally has nose-dived to less than 15 percent, and US refusal to give us the same energy deal as given to India.
Recently, of course, the Pakistani public has been exposed to such unsavoury acts by US spy agencies as tapping the telephones of our politicians with the explicit purpose of arm twisting them to ensure that US interests remain paramount in our policy making.
Ron Suskind's book includes excerpts of telephonic exchanges between Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto where Musharraf has been quoted as saying that her security "is based on the state of our relationship"; to Benazir Bhutto's call to her son Bilawal, purportedly informing him of the hidden accounts that are regarded in Pakistan as part of her 'unexplained' income.
It is critical for the US administration to understand that dealing with individual politicians and forcing them to undertake some actions that are seen as aligned with a US agenda as opposed to a Pakistan specific agenda has resulted in alienating the general public from the US.
The solution to win our hearts and minds remains simple: convince the people that friendship with the US is in our best economic interests which it is; and desist from undertaking unsavoury actions that have not done too much good to US image anywhere in the world.