to yeh F- Paki journalist ka kaam tha. is journailst se poochay woh apnay aap ko kon sa grade deta hay apni yellow journalism par?
DAWN.COM | Front Page | Holbrooke in damage control move
Holbrooke in damage control move
By Anwar Iqbal
Sunday, 03 May, 2009 | 07:09 AM PST
WASHINGTON, May 2: US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke disagrees with President Barack Obama’s description of the Zardari government as “very fragile,” which is incapable of delivering even basic services to its people.
In an interview hastily arranged by the Pakistan Embassy to undo the impression created by President Obama’s remarks, Mr Holbrooke said he believed the Zardari government was capable of doing what his boss said it was not.
Questioned pointedly if the government in Islamabad was capable of delivering what is being expected of it, he replied: “Of course, the government in Islamabad is capable of running the country. They are democratically elected, a fine group of people,” said Mr Holbrooke.
At his Wednesday evening news conference, President Obama had said he was “gravely concerned” and believed that “the civilian government there right now is very fragile and don’t seem to have the capacity to deliver basic services: schools, healthcare, rule of law, a judicial system that works for the majority of the people.”He added: “As a consequence, it is very difficult for them (the government) to gain the support and the loyalty of their people.”
But Ambassador Holbrooke appeared to be blaming the Pakistani media for remarks made by his president.
“This is journalistic garbage. This is journalistic gobbledygook. It’s a story being hyped by journalists,” said Mr Holbrooke when asked to comment on interpretations of President Obama’s remarks in the Pakistani press.
Commenting on Mr Holbrooke’s rebuttal, diplomatic observers in Washington pointed out that the US envoy seemed to be spending a lot of time with the Pakistani ambassador, Husain Haqqani, whose “favourite sport is rubbishing the Pakistani media”.
Ambassador Holbrooke, however, pointed out that President Obama had invited President Zardari to Washington next week and he was one of the first visitors he has had since he became president.
But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Friday that the summit was no occasion to crown Mr Zardari as a key US ally. At the summit, President Obama planned to “have some very intense sessions on the specifics of what we’re trying to accomplish” in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Ambassador Holbrooke, however, insisted that the US “support is for the democratically elected government of President Asif Ali Zardari. It’s as simple as that. Who has President Obama invited to Washington next week? President Zardari.”Mr Holbrooke pointed out that the US administration was supporting Islamabad in overcoming challenges facing the country. “Let us focus on facts. We helped Pakistan raise five and a half billion dollars in Tokyo two weeks ago. We are asking Congress for more money for Pakistan. We are focusing on helping your country face down a serious terrorist threat from the West, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other terrorists,” he said.
“Journalists can write anything they want. You have a free press. That is part of a strong democracy, but it is not true,” he said.
He added: “It’s true that our chairman of the joints staff Admiral Mullen visits Pakistan quite often. But that is to offer assistance to your country. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the head of the army, has pledged support for the democratic and civilian government of Pakistan. We take him at his word.”
Mr Holbrooke said President Obama also had “very deep personal feelings for Pakistan. As a young man he visited Pakistan. His mother worked there, she loved Pakistan.
“And we are not throwing bricks over Pakistan. I don’t even know what that means. We are helping Pakistan. We helped raise billions of dollars for Pakistan at a pledging conference in April.”
Ambassador Holbrooke said the Obama administration was now going to ask Congress for even more money for Pakistan.
“We believe Pakistan is a critically important country, a democracy, a state that is facing very many difficult economic and political challenges. In the middle of this, you have miscreants in the West, who are trying to cause enormous extra problems. And this is extremely serious and we want to help Pakistan deal with this problem.”
But he failed to notice that the media reports did not question the US commitment to Pakistan. They only pointed out weaknesses of the Zardari government as highlighted by President Obama.