Asiana21

PAKISTAN PUT ON THE SPOT

Syed Saleem Shahzad

Asia Times, June 9, 2009

BRUSSELS - After Afghanistan, Pakistan is the new battleground for the United States-led war against Islamic militants, with fighting raging in the Swat area of North-West Frontier Province and threatening to spread not only to the country's urban areas but to Iran and beyond.

Washington is acutely aware of a possible regional crisis and is doing its utmost to convince its allies in Europe to muster all possible support for its client Pakistani establishment before the crisis gets out of hand.

The US's backroom lobbying helped Pakistan obtain commitments of over US$5 billion in aid at April's international donors' conference in Tokyo. But while the Barack Obama administration has made a strong case for increased European support, the difficult part is to agree on the best arrangement under which European capitals could help Pakistan.

The first-ever European Union-Pakistan summit scheduled for June 16-17 in Brussels will primarily focus on counter-terrorism. Leading analysts contend, however, that what really is at stake is Pakistan's strategic relations with the West, given its growing economic dependence of foreign aid.

(...) [artículo aquí]