Feel the pain

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Anybody looking at some of the images of Prime Minister Gilani and his meeting with the American delegation led by Senator John Kerry would have immediately been struck by the look of profound discomfort on his face and the awkwardness of his body language. We can only guess at the reasons for his discomfiture, but Kerry had dropped some broad hints whilst still in Kabul on Sunday that hard questions would be asked about the circumstances which surrounded the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. And then there was the stick of aid – rumblings of discontent with Pakistan by American senators and congressmen who felt that they were not getting as many bangs for their bucks out of Pakistan as they would wish. But at the end there was the statement that cooperation between the US and Pakistan was going to continue, albeit under difficult circumstances, and any further unilateral action by America would further damage the relationship – so said the PM and COAS General Kayani. The press briefing that Kerry made in the evening was largely placatory and told us little of substance in terms of what has passed between his team and our government. He said that he understood Pakistan’s feelings of wounded pride and violated sovereignty, but took the position that Bin Laden had done as much to violate it. He spoke of the secrecy around the Bin Laden mission, glossing over it by saying that this was not a matter of trust but operational security. We learned that two senior American officials are to visit late this week to put flesh on the bones of whatever has been agreed in the last 24 hours; and that a ‘series of steps’ had been put in place with ‘immediate effect’ which would get the relationship between the two countries back on track. He spoke of the need for realistic expectations and of mutual needs, and that the bonds that tie us together were strong enough to weather this storm. Kerry said he was not going to make any apologies, and he did not say that America would not act unilaterally again.

Pakistan may have drawn its own lines in the sand as well, and the tension is being managed rather than mitigated. Meanwhile in Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Pakistan should reject aid from the US, as a means of asserting its sovereignty and breaking free of the shackles that tie it to Washington. He said that the Punjab cabinet had decided to set the precedent by rejecting foreign funding. More than the exchanges with leaders in Islamabad, the stand taken by Mian Shahbaz Sharif should help drive home to Mr Kerry and the US how sentiment is shaping up in Pakistan. The views of Mr Sharif are shared by many. The fact that the federal government apparently made only a lacklustre attempt to make Mr Kerry realise this during detailed meetings with him will be noted by people who continue to ask precisely how Pakistan intends to deal with the situation that has arisen after the Abbottabad operation.