Expectations for the New Secretary of State

241

December 25, 2012

Published in Nawa-i-Waqt
(Pakistan) on 23 December 2012
by (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Fauzia Iqbal. Edited by Hana Livingston .

Obama has nominated John Kerry as Secretary of State. Hillary has already excused herself from a nomination. Experts say Kerry’s appointment will prove beneficial for Pakistan because he has a soft spot for our country. The reality is that no American diplomat thinks outside his own interests. He sees his own country’s interests first and foremost. Senator Kerry is one of the champions of the Kerry-Lugar bill in the U.S. Congress. As a senator, he did harbor a soft spot for Pakistan. It remains to be seen whether his sympathy will continue after his appointment as head of the State Department. Pakistan acts as a constraint on American policy makers, because only by keeping Pakistan appeased can they proceed in Afghanistan. We should maintain our hopes that Kerry will stay as close as possible to issues relating to Pakistan, and that he will shape his policy in new directions so that the paths of peace are widened and tension is reduced in this region. Pakistan, even as a non-participant in the Afghan war, has already lost much of its assets.

اوباما نے جان کیری کو وزیر خارجہ نامزد کر دیا، ہلیری نے اس سلسلے میں معذرت کرلی تھی۔ ماہرین کے نزدیک جان کیری کا تقرر پاکستان کیلئے بہتر ثابت ہو گا کیونکہ وہ پاکستان کیلئے نرم گوشہ رکھتے ہیں۔ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ کوئی بھی امریکی کبھی اپنے مفادات سے ہٹ کر نہیں سوچتا۔ وہ سب سے پہلے اپنے ملک کا مفاد سامنے رکھتا ہے۔ سینیٹر کیری امریکی کانگریس میں کیری لوگر بل کے چیمپئنز میں سے ہیں‘ انہوں نے سینٹر کے لحاظ سے تو پاکستان کیلئے نرم گوشہ رکھا لیکن دیکھنے کو باقی ہے کہ انکی سٹیٹ ڈیپارٹمنٹ ہیڈ کی تقرری کے بعد کیا پاکستان سے انکی ہمدردی قائم رہتی ہے یا نہیں؟ پاکستان امریکی پالیسی سازوں کی مجبوری بھی ہے کیونکہ پاکستان کو رام کرکے ہی افغانستان میں کام کیا جا سکتا ہے۔ امید رکھنی چاہئے کہ وہ پاکستان کے بارے میں حقائق سے قریب تر رہ کر اپنی پالیسی کو نئی راہ دکھائیں تاکہ اس خطے میں امن کی راہیں کشادہ ہوں اور تناﺅ میں کمی آئے کیونکہ پاکستان پہلے ہی افغان جنگ میں شامل نہ ہونے کے باوجود اپنا بہت سا اثاثہ گنوا چکا ہے۔

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