Addressing a seminar, organized by the American Muslim Alliance in Washington on January 11, Chamberlin said intelligence reports indicated that Al Qaeda was losing its strength and effectiveness, and claimed that the people in Pakistan's tribal regions, where the drone attacks were being carried out, supported these strikes; she asserted that Pakistani tribesmen believe the attacks are instrumental in defeating terrorism in their areas. Chamberlin, who is also a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, noted that growing public indignation in Pakistan was not just because of the drone attacks; rather, that these feelings were rooted in other problems as well.
She posed the question of why Pakistan was asking the United States for drone technology if it did not approve of these attacks. According to her, drone attacks could not be blamed for the agitated public mood in Pakistan – a situation which is far more complex: "Pakistanis go into protest mode when their day-to-day problems are not resolved."
Chamberlin pointed to the $7.5 billion being given to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Bill as evidence of U.S. concern for the people of Pakistan and said Washington wanted to reassure Pakistanis that it will stay with them and support democracy irrespective of the political party in power. She also referred to the U.S. plan to create Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in the tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan; under this plan, all products manufactured in these regions will have duty free access to the U.S. markets. She was optimistic that the project would bring hope and opportunity to these regions.
Later, when speaking to the Pakistan Post, former Ambassador Chamberlin said extremists were Pakistan's biggest enemies. They were killing innocent civilians in mosques and markets. They had even attacked the country's military headquarters. She agreed with an observation that terrorism needed to be defeated wherever it reared its head. She said poverty, illiteracy and high cost of living were some of the biggest problems Pakistan faced today; however, feudalism was the biggest of all these challenges. Seventy percent of litigation in Pakistani courts is over land ownership.
Replying to a question about Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's trial – a neuroscientist who is facing terrorism-related charges in a New York court – Chamberlin said the case was in a civil court and she was hopeful that justice would be done. It may be recalled that Ambassador Chamberlin left her job in Islamabad in 2002 over security fears for her family.
RESENTMENT AGAINST PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT
Earlier, Director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia center Shuja Nawaz gave a speech in which he said that 18,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives since 2001. Terrorism-related violence had caused a loss of over $50 billion to the country's economy, which, he said, was a heavy price for Islamabad's alliance with the United States.
The U.S. Congress recently approved the Kerry-Lugar Bill under which approved $1.5 billion in economic aid to Islamabad annually (for the next five years). Shuja Nawaz felt that the latest U.S. economic aid was not enough to successfully address the country's economic woes. The uncertain political, economic and security situation was adding to the public anxiety in Pakistan. The present government failed to address these issues, Shuja said, which were causing great public resentment. The majority of Pakistan's population of 170 million is between the ages of 18 to 25. The country's education and health delivery systems are in shambles, while the budgetary allocation for these sectors is very low. Much of the U.S. aid is being used to improve Pakistan's education infrastructure.
Shuja said Pakistanis seem to be fed up with the policies of their government and the country could see major changes in the coming days. These changes were expected after the retirement of the country's powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, which will take place on November 28, 2010. Shuja speculated, however, that even these changes would not positively impact the country's economy.
Commenting on the tense U.S.-Pakistan relations, Shuja Nawaz said there was a widespread impression amongst Pakistanis that Washington was not putting enough pressure on India to resolve the Kashmir dispute. The popular thinking in Pakistan is that it cannot afford to pull its troops from its eastern border with India, unless the outstanding issues between the two countries are resolved. Pakistan could spare more troops for the fight against terrorism if it did not feel threatened by India. He said the Obama Administration had missed an opportunity by denying Islamabad a deal for civilian nuclear cooperation after Pakistan's firm commitment to wipe out the Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan network.
He said the terrorism threat can be more effectively addressed if U.S.- Pakistan relations are lasting, strong and mutually beneficial.
