US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could have timed it more poorly, on Monday, when she called on Pakistan to do more in New Delhi at a joint press conference with Indian Foreign Minister L.M. Krishna, on an issue about which India has made a great fuss, the 2008 Mumbai massacres. Ms Clinton’s call included the handing over of Lashkar-i-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed to India, even though India has not provided any evidence which might allow the Pakistani authorities to arrest him. It was promptly echoed by Mr Krishna. In her desire to please the Indians, Ms Clinton completely disregarded the many sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the war on terror, and the thousands of lives of its soldiers laid down to help the USA occupy Afghanistan, where it apparently is trying to drag in India, with little intrinsic interest there, and keep out Pakistan, despite its historic and ethnic ties with its people.
Pakistan should note that Ms Clinton’s repetition of the do-more mantra only encouraged Mr Krishna to do the same. This is indeed one of India’s goals in the region, being able to malign Pakistan at will, all the while posing as the USA’s trusted ally and friend. It also helps India portray the struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination as terrorism. It is this so-called terrorism which allows India to claim its shared victimhood with the USA. Ms Clinton has already expressed her view that al-Qaeda chief Ayman Zawahiri is in Pakistan, a view which, while backed by no evidence given to Pakistan, has merely encouraged India to posture more threateningly towards Pakistan.
Ms Clinton has a pronounced tilt towards India, which has shown itself in this visit. Even though the USA favoured India with a civilian nuclear deal, this has not resulted in the expected orders being placed with American firms. No matter the level of mistrust, American interests in the region can only be furthered by Pakistani help. And injecting more and more acrimony into the relationship is not the smartest strategy for furthering the strategic objectives in the area.