Hillary Clinton on Pakistan and US Relations with the Muslim World
NEW YORK, December 10, 2009 - On the eve of the American Pakistan Foundation (APF) Inaugural Gala, where Secretary Hillary Clinton was keynote speaker, Hassan Abbas, Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Fellow and senior advisor at the Belfer Centre, Harvard Kennedy School, talked with Sec. Clinton about Pakistan and the United States' relations with the Muslim world.
HASSAN ABBAS: During your recent visit to
Pakistan, you won the hearts of many through your courageous outreach -
visiting Badshahi mosque, participating in television talk shows,
interacting with students at country’s premier educational institution
Government College Lahore, and most importantly going to the mausoleum
of Mohammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher who gave the idea of Pakistan.
Even those who are critical of the U.S. policy were appreciative of
these gestures and it served an important message to those Pakistani
politicians also who are not in touch with masses.
What were the signs of hope that you gauged during this visit?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, the resilience and the
courage of the Pakistani people. Everywhere I went, I met people who
are speaking out and standing up and working hard, and that was
extremely moving to me. I also felt like both the civilian government
and the military leadership understood that the threat they faced had
to be addressed.
And I thought that was very promising, because the terrorist threat to
Pakistan is growing and it’s intense and it can only be defeated by the
Pakistani people coming together and rejecting it, in the first
instance, trying to present a different narrative than the one that the
terrorists are putting forth, using military force where they must, but
mostly by developing the democratic institutions, by developing the
country, clearly demonstrating that Pakistan has no room for those who
want to tear down, because the Pakistan people want to build.
HASSAN ABBAS: During the said trip you also
visited Police offices in Islamabad to pay tribute to the sacrifices
rendered by police officials in the fight against extremism. You are
the first and so far the only foreign leader visiting Pakistan who
thought of this. It is becoming clear in Pakistan that the country will
not be able to win this battle especially in areas like Punjab and
Karachi unless its law enforcement and police forces are reformed and
upgraded. I must confess that this topic is of special interest to me
as before my academic career in the US, I was a police official in
Pakistan. Also Pakistan army cannot be expected to fight everywhere in
the country. In this context, will the US be supporting police and law
enforcement reform agenda in Pakistan?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we would be honored to do so,
because I agree with you that the police truly are on the front lines.
They often have to deal with the rush of violence that comes in cities
or towns and they don’t have the support they need, they don’t often
have the equipment that they need. And as you say, I met a number of
police officers, both in Lahore and in Islamabad, who are very
committed, but under-resourced. And I am more than happy to consider
any request from the Pakistani Government to help the police force,
because I agree completely that they’re the front line of defense.
HASSAN ABBAS: Thank you very much. I am sure this
would make a headline in Pakistan. I have been in touch with many of my
former colleagues in the country and during my research on the subject,
I found that Pakistan police is one of the very few organizations in
the country where there is an internal institutional effort for reform.
I hope your message of support in this sphere will be welcomed and
appreciated in Pakistan.
My next question is about U.S. relations with the Muslim world.
This U.S. administration has certainly set a new tone of dialogue,
reconciliation and respect in this realm. President Obama’s speeches in
Turkey and Cairo were absolutely great and gave the right message to
the Muslim audiences around the world. What is the follow-up on that?
What are the next stages of that relationship?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it’s a great question because
we’ve been working very hard on follow-up, and I recently attended a
conference in Marrakesh, Morocco where we announced a number of
follow-up actions. The one that was just embraced wholeheartedly was
the idea of science envoys. I said at the time that much of the science
that we take for granted today was really discovered and refined in
prior times by Islamic scholars and scientists. And from astronomy to
algebra, there’s so much that we owe to the Muslim world, and there
needs now to be a renewed emphasis on science, which is not
incompatible with religion, and therefore, we’re going to be sending
Nobel science prize winners, former heads of the National Academy of
Sciences, and so many others to visit universities and governments to
try to rekindle that with our help.
We’re also investing in more English language education programs. We’re
investing in more business programs, entrepreneurship programs. We’re
going to start a series of interfaith dialogues. There will be a lot of
follow-up to Cairo because we have had such demand and we’re going to
try to meet it.
HASSAN ABBAS: You are known for your cordial
relationship with Pakistani diaspora in the U.S. There is a large
Muslim diaspora in the U.S. which I believe can act as a bridge between
the U.S. and the Muslim world. Which are the other Muslim diaspora
groups in the U.S. that you feel encouraged about and which can play a
positive role?
SECRETARY CLINTON: That’s a great question. Well, I do
believe that the Palestinian diaspora has been galvanized around
economic development. A number of my Palestinian American friends are
making investments in the West Bank because the security has improved
so much, thanks to the good work of President Abbas and Prime Minister
Fayyad. So there is a rather dramatic increase in the economic activity
in the West Bank which many American Palestinians are investing in.
There are a number of Indian Muslims who are very involved in
interfaith and other outreach activities. I do a lot of work with the
Bangladeshi community, which is not as involved as the Pakistani
community has been in academia or in professional activity, but is
really at the grassroots in a lot of countries – or a lot of cities in
our country. So I think those are some examples of what we’re working
on.
HASSAN ABBAS: My last question is about
India-Pakistan relations. The United States has said many times that it
would like to facilitate better India-Pakistan relations and I think
there’s no doubt about the sincerity of that purpose. But of course,
U.S. has its limitations in terms of how much it can do to bring both
parties on the table and perhaps India is not very comfortable with the
idea of third party mediation because of its stature, and reasons of
history. However, President Obama made an interesting statement on the
subject during his recent visit to China. European Union also is
interested in playing a role in this arena.
Do you think there might be some possibility in future that EU,
China, and United States altogether can take an initiative to bring
Pakistan and India together and help them resolve their differences. We
continuously hear that peace in the Af-Pak region is considered the
most critical issue for the global security concerns. A global approach
hence can be relevant. Do you think such an international effort can
work?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think it could be a guarantor or
it could be a positive force for implementation. But I think that the
impetus must come from the two countries themselves. And at some point,
both countries might say we’ve gotten as far as we can get; therefore
we need some support, we need some new energy. But we have to start
with the two countries and with their commitment to pursuing this
dialogue first.
COMMENTARY: I was pleasantly surprised when out of the
blue I received a message from the State Department inviting me to
interview Secretary Clinton for my blog. I was also provided the
opportunity to sit in during the interviews she gave to Riz Khan of
Aljazeera and a Pakistani news channel. Riz Khan’s unending series of
jokes were hilarious that kept us in good spirits while we all waited
for the Secretary in a small and cozy room at the State Department. His
fun performance was as spectacular as it was dramatic. However, I only
came to know the next day that he was testing his jokes on us – as I
heard him repeat all those jokes in his role as the master of ceremony
in the inaugural event of the American Pakistan Foundation (APF) in New
York. Secretary Clinton was the chief guest at the event and she made a
splendid speech warming the hearts of a largely Pakistani-American
audience.
Hilary Clinton’s passion for Pakistan was palpable during the
conversations I witnessed. She also referred to a special feeling that
President Obama has for Pakistan and earnestly hoped that the U.S. –
Pakistan relations would benefit from this supporting factor. She
admired the way “Pakistan has pulled together to go after those
elements of the Taliban that are directly threatening them.” What she
left unsaid in this regard also says a lot about how U.S. is viewing
the situation in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
Her views about U.S. role in Afghanistan and globally were also
insightful. There is a growing perception that U.S. is giving up the
state-building goal in Afghanistan while focusing entirely on military
‘surge’. She dispelled this impression effectively when in response to
a question from Riz Khan she argued that, “military effort is essential
to providing security, but long-term stability, peace and prosperity
can only come through political reconciliation, through development,
through the enhancement of the capacity of Afghan institutions,
expanding the education system – the kind of nuts and bolts that really
build and sustain society” and emphasized that she is working hard for
these objective. The people of Afghanistan deserve this and U.S. owe it
to them but the fact remains that U.S. cannot manage this alone. She
acknowledged this limitation while responding to a different question:
“there’s not a problem in the world that the United States can solve
alone, but I would quickly add there is not a problem in the world that
can be solved without the United States.” While the second part of this
notion is a debatable proposition, it is also surprising why U.S. has
not involved regional players to stabilize Afghanistan. India, Iran,
Turkey, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China besides Pakistan, all have
stakes in Afghanistan and without a regional settlement U.S. will find
it very difficult to turn the tables on growing insurgency in
Afghanistan. Accommodating legitimate interests of Afghanistan’s
neighbors will help.
Hillary Clinton’s heartfelt concern for women rights in the Muslim
world and highlighting a dire need for interfaith dialogue and harmony
impressed me greatly. President Obama is lucky to have her on his side
at a time when U.S. is aspiring to rebuild its image globally and
looking for partners to ‘give peace a chance’. Her vision and guidance
will surely prove to be a valuable asset for this administration.