Updated on
Summary US Senators are hopeful that new President will continue to work for better relations with Pakistan.
Despite the fierce differences between the Democratic and Republican camapigns on almost everything in the Presidential elections scheduled for November 6th (Tuesday) this year, there is a sort of consensus when it comes to dealing with Pakistan. Senior leadership from both sides agress that the Pak-US cooperation on critical issues is in mutual interest and there is no chance of any aggressive policies irrespective of which administration takes the White House. Senior Senator, Lindsey Graham (Republican from South Carolina) said that he had been in favour of engagement with Pakistan. We have to fight together against terrorism in the tribal regions. But Pakistan has got to change its attitude and behaviour, or we are going to lose the ability, of the American people, to support assistance, he said.Recalling the amendment proposed by his fellow Republican Senator Rand Paul that called for cutting-off all assistance to Pakistan, he said that he had led the fight against cutting-off all aid to Pakistan. I opposed the Rand Paul amendment because I think we need to have a good relationship with Pakistan, he said while But its not where we needed to be. I am the guy who said that now is not the time to cut-off all aid to Pakistan, he said. It would have been the easiest thing for me to vote for cutting-off aid (to Pakistan), because people at home are offended by the fact that the guy who helped us get bin Laden is in jail. People at home are offended by the fact that the ISI is cooperating with Haqqani network, who kill Americans, he said while outlining the reasons of some of the acrimony at bilateral level in the recent past.Senator Graham, also a vocal member of the Senates Armed services Committee,, however, expressed hope in the relationship. I see Pakistan as a work in progress. And I do believe that after the shooting of this 14-year old girl, the best part of the Pakistani people is going to emerge, he said while drawinga ttention to the attempted murder of Malala Yusufzai by Taliban miltants in Swat that caused huge public outrage in Pakistan and overseas.I still have hope for Pakistan. We have to work together. Our fates are tied together. The people trying to destroy Pakistan - the terrorists - are also trying to destroy us. It is in our mutual interest to stay working together, but people in Pakistan and their government have to help a guy like me help them, he pleaded.On the other hand, Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat from Illinois) also cautioned against fiery statements and believed that the stance of Mitt Romney during the last presidential debate on Pakistan was in reality an endorsement of current administrations policies, led by President Obama. What Governor Romney has learnt that these tough statements you make during the course of a campaign are pretty tough to live with when you have to explain them to the American people. We want to have a positive relationship with Pakistan and thats what the president has been working towards, he maintained.There is obviously some tension, stress and some differences. But If we have Pakistan and the United States working together against terrorism and for peace in that region of that world in Asia, its a good thing for both countries, the Senator, who is also the Democratic party whip in the Senate, said.When asked about the future course of the Pak-US relations after the November 6th elections, he said taht this will also depend on the future regime in Pakistan. There are elections in Pakistan coming too. So in terms of future leadership of that country, it remains to be seen. He called for the need to define the rules of enaggement between both countries.As long as we can agree on the basic values that we want to stop the terrorists that are harbouring themselves in Pakistan - going into Afghanistan, causing turmoil - we want to end the kind of expansion of Taliban presence in Afghanistan with the cooperation of Pakistan and we want to deal with nuclear policies of that region in a sensible way; all these things are consistent with the US policy, he asserted.Senator Durbin was also hesitant to agree with the statement of Mitt Romney that Pakistans civilian government was not able to deliver properly. I would not go that far. But we know that the military is strong. We know the intelligence community is strong and we are goping that the civilian government will be able to work closely with us to execute our values, he remarked.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC
