Pakistani prime minister’s visit to Iran highlights increasing anti-Americanism
The Pakistani media’s strong support of a visit to Iran last week by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani demonstrates Pakistan’s increasingly anti-U.S. stance.
The already strained relations between the U.S. and Pakistan came under further stress following the September 13 Taliban attacks on the U.S. Embassy and nato buildings in Kabul. Washington has blamed the Pakistan-based Haqqani network for the attacks and accused Islamabad of supporting the Taliban faction.
On 16 September, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ishfaq Parvez Kayani told a nato defense chiefs meeting in Spain that Pakistan would “formulate policy in accordance with its national interests” and “the wishes of the Pakistani people”—who are largely anti-American and sympathetic with the Taliban.
In July, Courcy’s Intelligence Brief reported that during the previous six months, the growing estrangement between Pakistan and the U.S. had been reflected in every Pakistani newspaper and media outlet of note. Now, in relation to the Pakistani prime minister’s September 13-14 visit to Iran, Pakistan’s media have come out strongly in support of Pakistan-Iran relations.
The Daily Times, a moderate English-language daily, wrote, “Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani’s visit to Iran signals … a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s foreign policy. … The new energy in Pakistan-Iran relations is of a piece with the tectonic power shifts taking place in the region as the Afghan endgame approaches.”
The Nation, a nationalist English-language daily, wrote, “The nation, fed up with the pro-U.S. policies of the ppp [Pakistan People’s Party]-led government that have badly undermined our national interests, would feel delighted to learn that Pakistan has finally revamped its foreign policy and decided to develop ‘very close’ relations with its neighbors.”
Pakistan Observer, a pro-military English-language daily, reported, “Islamabad wants a very close relationship with Tehran and to give fresh impetus to the existing bilateral ties. … It appeared that the two sides are determined to move swiftly towards this direction.”
The Nawa-i-Waqt, a nationalist Urdu daily, wrote, “[An] alliance of Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan is the most important need of the hour. These countries should demonstrate unity to become such a power which can foil designs of the enemies of Islam.”
And so on.
In addition to the growing anti-Americanism in Pakistan, Courcy’s Intelligence Brief reports that there is a “growing feeling within Pakistan policymaking circles that the U.S. can and should be prevented from remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 by the combined diplomatic efforts of Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran” (September 21). The report says that Pakistani sources say that Islamabad is involved in intensive diplomatic efforts toward this end.
A Pakistani Foreign Ministry official was quoted last week as saying: “Discussions in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and Islamabad right now are focusing on how these regional players should take a lead role in the transition in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan, erstwhile U.S. ally (even if reluctant), is increasingly emerging as a dangerous foe as it allies with America’s enemies. Editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned of this in 2007, in his article “Pakistan and the Shah of Iran.”
