ISLAMABAD: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry departed on Monday after a whirlwind visit to Islamabad with the hope that the controversy over the aid legislation he had co-authored with Senator Lugar was over and Pakistan would welcome the money.

However, he wasn’t sure if all stakeholders were satisfied.

Senator Kerry made the trip to clarify to Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership the intent of the legislation that evoked strong criticism here because of certain clauses which appeared to impinge on the country’s sovereignty and national security. The language also was considered to be demeaning.

Senator Kerry, who arrived here late on Sunday night, met President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and emphasised that the ruckus over the law needed to be cleared up and a way forward should be found, instead of ‘being drawn down in an unfortunate and totally unnecessary diversion from very real challenges’.

The schedule of his meetings, in which his interaction with President Zardari was no more than a courtesy call and engagements at the Foreign Office and the finance ministry were dropped, showed that Mr Kerry wanted to focus his visit on those who had reservations about the aid package and an explanatory statement had failed to address their concerns.

During his meetings, the senator who looked quite fatigued because of the long journey took pains to explain to some of the most bitter critics that it was a pro-Pakistan and pro-democracy legislation.

There was nothing sinister in it and it had ‘no effect whatsoever on Pakistan’s sovereignty’.

Explaining objective of the law that provides for $7.5 billion socio-economic assistance for Pakistan over the next five years, he said it was designed to have a long-term engagement with the people of Pakistan and strengthen their bond with the people of the US with a desire to change wrong perceptions about America.

‘It is a very straightforward and legitimate effort to respond to the needs of Pakistan,’ Mr Kerry said.

He was concerned that although many people understood the essence of the law, the disparagement of the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act did not end even after the explanatory statement which was part of the act and had full force of law, having been filed along with the bill.

‘It could not have been clearer,’ Mr Kerry told journalists, adding that the explanatory statement fully clarified that the US honoured Pakistan’s sovereignty and there was no effort to micromanage it.
 
Although he tried during his media interaction to avoid giving an impression that he was disappointed by the criticism, at one point he could not hide his frustration and hit out at the Pakistani critics, saying: ‘If you don’t want it (the assistance), say so. No one is forcing you to take it.’
 
His message for the political and military leadership of the cash-strapped country mired in political, economic, energy and security problems was loud and clear that they needed to be pragmatic. ‘I don’t think we should play to the galleries. We need to look at the big picture and look at it honestly and have an honest assessment of it.’

Mr Kerry wouldn’t say if he had succeeded in allaying the concerns of the opposition and the security establishment. ‘This is for your leadership to determine. I don’t want to make a prediction.’
 
However, he described his meetings with Gen Kayani and Lt-Gen Pasha as positive.

He reiterated his desire that things should return to the constructive mode and hinted that a legislative process could be initiated at a later stage to address the concerns in Pakistan about the law.

‘We’ll work in a constructive way in days ahead, absolutely making certain that what happens here is the building of a relationship with the people of Pakistan in a way that the Pakistani people feel comfortable and accept it.’

GILANI
Mr Gilani’s discussion with Senator Kerry appeared to be out of sync with the strong defence of the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act put up by the foreign minister in parliament last week after returning from Washington.

The prime minister was quoted in a press statement as having said: ‘The US must take cognisance of public sentiments in Pakistan about their concerns on the Kerry-Lugar Bill and seek to address these concerns through tangible initiatives as well as effective public diplomacy.’
 
He stressed that Pakistan would never compromise on its sovereignty and core national security interests.

The prime minister appeared to be echoing the continuing fears in the security establishment as he expressed the hope that the conditionalities would never come in the way of the US at any stage in fulfilling its commitments to Pakistan under the legislation. ‘This would constitute a real test of US credibility.’

Though the army has decided against publicly criticizing the aid package, senior commanders believe that notwithstanding the clarification of the intent the controversial clauses would create problems at some later stage.

ZARDARI
Mr Zardari, a strong proponent of the assistance, thanked the US leadership for supporting democracy in Pakistan.

NAWAZ
The PML-N chief, in his meeting with Mr Kerry, asked questions about the legality of the explanatory statement.

Mr Sharif, whose party has rejected the act, urged Mr Kerry to consider suitable measures to allay the doubts and misgivings that had arisen in Pakistan. He called for a ‘genuine partnership with the people of Pakistan based on mutual respect and trust’.