BRUSSELS: President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to European Union headquarters this week has given a boost to Pakistani leader’s reputation in Europe and spotlighted Islambad’s vital role in an increasingly troubled region.
Significantly, however, European praise for the president’s foreign policy objectives remains mixed with persistent concerns in Europe about internal developments in Pakistan, including the predominant role of the military and Islamabad’s limited success in fighting extremism.
President Musharraf’s first visit to the EU — including meetings with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU’s high representative for common foreign and security policy Javier Solana and Josep Borrell, the President of the European Parliament — is being described by top European diplomats as a milestone in relations between the EU and Pakistan.
Although EU-Pakistan ties gained political momentum after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was in Brussels early last year, this is the first time a Pakistani head of state has visited the EU. The top-level contacts appear to have paid off. Senior EU diplomats told this correspondent after the meetings that the president had managed to talk on foreign policy issues with confidence and deep knowledge of the region.
“The atmosphere in the talks has been very good,” said an EU official underlining that Pakistan’s recent role in foiling an alleged aeroplane bombing plot at London’s Heathrow airport and efforts to clampdown on the cross-border movement of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan had won it kudos in Europe.
With the violence in Afghanistan worsening daily, the situation in the country was inevitably the focus of talks with Barroso and Solana. Members of the European Parliament, on the other hand, focused on Pakistan’s domestic political situation, including participation by political parties in next year’s legislative elections, the role of the army and the treatment of women.
“Musharraf performed very well in his talks. We realize that Pakistan is absolutely vital for the region,” said an EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But in the end we are not blind. His weaker points lie on the domestic front and his ability to combat extremism,” the diplomat insisted.
Musharraf’s repeated comments that he was committed to fighting “the mullahs” also did not match the parliament’s failure to pass amendments on a law on protecting women, said the diplomat.
The president’s key message on Afghanistan appears to have been convincing. He argued repeatedly that the Taliban, which had the support of the people, was a bigger threat to Afghanistan’s stability than Al Qaeda.
He also insisted that Afghanistan’s continuing internal troubles and the increasingly violent insurgency in the south could not be blamed on Pakistan. The problems to be tackled by Kabul must include dealing with Pushtoon concerns about inadequate representation at the national level as well as a feeling among many people that their country was being occupied again, he said.
The Taliban, he argued, were as much a threat to Pakistan as they were to Afghanistan. Questioned about relations with India, EU diplomats said they understood the president’s insistence that recent contacts and confidence-building measures must produce more concrete results. Calls for the EU to get more involved in resolving tensions over Kashmir look likely to remain unheeded, however, with officials in Brussels still arguing that the EU cannot play a role in the region unless requested to do so by both sides. India, however, continues to oppose this.
Addressing issues like terrorism and the Middle East, Pakistan’s message was that the world community must address the causes of terrorism rooted in unresolved political disputes, helplessness and sense of deprivation. “Unless we find political solution to the political disputes, we are not going to move forward. We must resolve political disputes that lead to political alienation,” he added.
President Musharraf’s call for more EU trade and investment to bolster the economy and help fight extremism appears to have found an echo among many in Brussels. There is also sympathy for his argument that Pakistan could act as a political bridge between the West and the Muslim world and serve as a trade and energy corridor in the region.
The two days of talks are certainly going to help improve EU officials’ understanding of Pakistan’s role in the region and especially the vital need for cooperation with Islamabad to deal with issues like terrorism and extremism.
As such, Pakistan can expect more credit for its foreign policy and international actions. But the meetings are unlikely to allay continuing concern among European policymakers over Pakistan’s domestic political situation and prospects for sustained institutional reform.
It is only once these questions are fully and satisfactorily answered and Pakistan can ease worries about the state of its democracy, the protection of the rights of women and minorities and the role of the army that relations with EU governments will be improved — in a sustained and long-term manner.
