Couric: Do you think that more American troops would be helpful to Afghanistan and to Pakistan?
Qureshi: There are two sides of the border. What we have done in the last one year, in our opinion, our side of the border is being far better managed today. We have the terrorists on the run.
Couric: How so?
Qureshi: Because today the local population in the tribal belt has risen against them. They are, for the first time, moving along with the troops searching for them. But there is a problem we are facing. And the problem is that there is a constant flow of weapons into Pakistan. Where are they coming from? They're coming from across the border.
Couric: Would happen, in your view, if - if the U.S. pulled out?
Qureshi: Oh, there'd be chaos, you know? You went in. You cannot leave without doing the job.
Couric: Many countries have. It's called the graveyard of empires for a reason.
Qureshi: Yes. And might look at the results then. Look what happened. Then you have 9/11's, right? And then you have, you know, these militants knocking on your door. Do you want that? No. The world, global economy will get affected. Do we want that? No.
Couric: A recent Gallup poll shows that 59 percent of Pakistanis regard the U.S. as the greatest threat to the country. Sixty-seven percent oppose U.S. drone attacks against the Taliban and al Qaeda. Why is there such public opposition in your country?
Qureshi: There are two issues why there's opposition to the drones. One is the issue of sovereignty. And the other is collateral damage. That is why what Pakistan is saying - transfer the technology to us. Give us the ownership and we can use this technology for the purpose that you want it to be used for.
Couric: I think the United States military worries that that technology will get into the hands of the wrong people if they're too relaxed about giving it to your country.
Qureshi: We are sort of your allies, and we have been your allies for a very, very long time. And this relationship can only be built on trust and confidence. So if you lack trust and confidence, where are we going? Today there is a consensus in Pakistan that these guys, the Taliban, and their value system is threatening what we believe in.
We have to fight them. Not for you - we have to fight them for ourselves.
Couric: How is anti-American sentiment right now in Pakistan?
Qureshi: I think you have failed in public diplomacy. You have not reaped - sort of the - the rewards of what you have given.
Couric: Isn't sending billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, though, a pretty powerful message to the Pakistani people?
Qureshi: You see, giving money is one thing. But cultivating the people is something totally different. President Obama is now reaching out to the Muslim world. Why is he doing that? Because he realizes that the strategy of the past was not working.
Pakistan's FM Speaks Out
Katie Couric speaks with Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the current Foreign Minister of Pakistan, about the instability of neighboring Afghanistan and the presence of U.S. military in the region
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment