WASHINGTON: The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, visited the residence of the Pakistani ambassador on Friday to attend his son’s graduation party.
The visit was the first by a first lady to a Pakistani mission or official residence, and it also was the first positive news in the US capital about Pakistan after weeks of negative publicity.
Yet, it was a private visit, with no apparent connection to larger events — like the elimination of Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in Balochistan or Congress’s refusal to subsidise an F-16 deal for Pakistan.
Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani’s youngest son goes to the same school — Sidwell Friends — as President Barack Obama’s daughters. And on Friday, Mrs Shaista Jilani and the ambassador hosted a graduation party for their son.
“It was a small get-together arranged at the residence, planned couple of weeks ago,” Ambassador Jilani told Dawn. “The First Lady was gracious enough to accept the invitation”. Asked if this visit could be interpreted as a goodwill gesture, which could help reduce tensions, the ambassador said: “It was a private get-together.”
Called the Harvard of Washington, Sidwell Friends is an exclusive private school where students are accepted purely on their merit.
Both of President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, and Vice President Joe Biden’s grandchildren attend the school. Former presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore also sent their children to this school.
“It was an absolute delight hosting FLOTUS at Pakistan House,” Ambassador Jilani said on Twitter.
Embassy officials, however, said reports in the Pakistani media that the First Lady discussed bilateral relations with the ambassador were “absolutely incorrect.” “As the ambassador said, this was a private get-together, not an official meeting,” said one official.
But since the visit followed weeks of high tensions between the two countries – due to the drone strike and the F-16 controversy – it generated a lot of speculation.
Political pundits appearing on various television channels said that the visit was a bid to mend strained relations between Washington and Islamabad. Some also claimed that the visit had President Obama’s blessings who wanted to tell the Pakistanis that the United States wanted to continue a strong relationship with Pakistan despite the recent tensions.
Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2016