The influential pro-Pakistan lobby has launched a concerted campaign urging US President Barack Obama to visit Pakistan during his trip to India November 6-9.
The pro-Pakistan lobby comprises Pakistani American physicians and business leaders, the Pakistan Political Action Committee -- PakPAC -- Islamabad's million dollar a year lobbyists under the umbrella of the Pakistan American Leadership Centre.
The Pakistan American Leadership Centre said, "President Obama's visit to Pakistan would send a strong signal of partnership and respect and reaffirm a mutual commitment to broadening our strategic alliance into the kind of multidimensional relationship initiated by the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue earlier this year."
"As an organisation representing Pakistani Americans and dedicated to fostering positive relations between the US and Pakistan, we strongly feel that such a visit would strengthen US public diplomacy efforts and engagement in Pakistan at a time when public polls in both countries show an increasingly negative perception of the other," it said.
Taha A Gaya, executive director of PALC told rediff.com that now besides the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, the devastating floods in Pakistan, which Obama himself had described as "widespread an unprecedented flooding," made it even more important that "the President visits Pakistan because it would send such a strong signal for him to go there and show solidarity and visit some of the affected areas."
Gaya noted that Dr Rajiv Shah, Administrator US Agency for International Development -- the highest ranking Indian American in the Obama administration -- had already visited Pakistan twice in the wake of the floods and met with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, and other top civilian and military leaders as had Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Senator John F Kerry "and President Obama should do the same and continue to extend a helping US hand to the people of Pakistan as they reconstruct their homes and lives."
"So, it would go a long way in sending a message to the Pakistan people that 'Look, we are with you, we support you 100 percent, this is a humanitarian catastrophe that Pakistan is having'," he said, and reiterated, "having this kind of message coming from the top would send a very clear message that he is with the Pakistani people and that Pakistan is not being used simply for America's narrow strategic interests."
Gaya said, it makes both humanitarian and logistical sense for Obama to visit Pakistan because he is going to be in the area visiting India, and even if he could spare a few hours in Pakistan during his three-day visit to India "it would be a great show of solidarity with the Pakistani people that he and his administration keep talking about."
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, briefing the media Monday along with Shah, after returning from Pakistan after reviewing the devastating floods in that country said, Pakistan continues to get the highest level of attention from the Obama administration, second only to Afghanistan.'
Noting that "Pakistan is the only country in the world in which Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton we have chaired three strategic dialogues in six months -- in March in Washington, July co-chaired in Islamabad and next month in Washington again (on October 22)," Holbrooke argued "the amount of attention Pakistan is getting from the highest levels of the US government is unmatched by any other country in the world, with the obvious attention of Afghanistan."
Gaya said an Obama visit to Pakistan would carry with it "a lot of symbolism, and there will be a lot of value to that. His rhetoric has been very good on Pakistan and to demonstrate that in tangible terms with his presence would be just a wonderful gesture to the Pakistani people, particularly now in the wake of these devastating floods."
He implied that Obama's visiting the region and not visiting Pakistan, which is considers a strategic partner and moreover now with the crippling floods would be very hurtful and insulting to the Pakistani people.
"It's as simple as if you and I are friends and I always say if you come to DC, you have to come visit my house and you come to DC and not visit me, obviously I will be very hurt and insulted."
Gaya said, "So, it's kind of that kind of sensitivity. It's like if you come to my neighbourhood, you have to come to my house if you are really my friend. You have to stay with me and you have to let me feed you and you and I have to check on each other and see how we are doing and catch up."
White House officials have said that as of now, there are no plans on the President's itinerary besides India to include any other country during his trip in November, but one official said, "Nothing is set in stone, and there can always be changes and stop-overs when such trips are being planned to one region or another."
