ONE day US representative Richard Holbrooke makes a public statement before the media that his country has no objection to the Iranian gas pipeline project; the very next day, he backtracks, very likely on being upbraided by Washington, and qualifies it with the remark that the US was drafting a legislation against Iran, which might jeopardise it. Then, while at Multan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi sharply reacts by saying, we have to look after our interests. He was confident that the project did not come under the purview of the UN sanctions that, in any case, Pakistan would follow, giving the clear impression that it has taken the decision to go ahead, whatever the American law might say. The nation, not only seething with anger at the governments obsequious attitude to the US but also under stress for a long list of worries and desperately wanting to get rid of the agony of loadshedding, was elated at this posture, which reflected the need to serve the national interest and befitted the behaviour of a sovereign state. Sadly, however, that feeling was not to last long. Soon afterwards, the official view took a sharp turn, and a tame acceptance of the US pressure became evident. All that talk of fiercely preserving our national interest and sovereign right in the conduct of relations with any country and the nations euphoria that at last Pakistan was coming into its own, abruptly ended as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told newsmen at Garhi Khuda Bux that Pakistan would abide by the American sanctions i.e. as stipulated in the legislation on the anvil in the US. Blatantly denying the stark reality that has, of late, become characteristic of Prime Ministers utterances, he maintained, we will not act under anyones dictation. The gas pipeline from Iran is a test case of the governments attitude towards its core interests, and, at the same time, of Washingtons repeated commitment of abiding friendship with Pakistan. Refusal to help solve the Kashmir dispute; going out of the way to favour India with a nuclear deal while denying a 'Non-NATO ally with the same privilege; coalescing with India to create trouble for Pakistan in FATA and Balochistan; baselessly accusing Pakistan of soft-pedalling on terrorists; pressurising it to give up the idea of receiving the natural gas from Iran; and, at the same time, creating hurdles to the Pak-China peaceful nuclear understanding - these American gestures should have convinced our present rulers that Pakistan is being systematically reduced to a client state. We need to redirect our compass to know from where genuine friendship and understanding beckons. We have made thoughtless sacrifices to curry favour with a phoney friend; it is time to make a move towards genuine friends, with Beijing heading the list that also includes several Muslim and other states.