Maleeha to leave Washington on an upbeat note
WHEN President Gen Pervez Musharraf visited US Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his February visit here, he was taken by surprise when Senate committee chairman Joseph Biden heaped praises on his ambassador to the United States, Maleeha Lodhi.
To underscore his point about Ms Lodhi’s performance as Pakistan envoy, Senator Biden said if she were to stand in election in this country (hypothetically) he would vote for her.
Similar sentiments were aired by House Foreign Relations Committee chairman Henry Hyde, which prompted President Musharraf to say: “She wants to leave her post here and go back to Pakistan but if this continues, I may retain her here forever”.
Ever since Pakistan joined the US coalition against terrorism and then with the standoff with India, Ms Lodhi has become one of the most high-profile diplomatic figure in Washington. She was the most-sought-after envoy by the American news channels — from CNN, PBS to Fox News.
The Washington Post and the New York Times did a couple of profiles on her as did other publications. This afforded her a chance to correct some of the fundamentalist “perceptions” about Pakistan society by projecting an image of a more open and liberal Pakistan society.
Being a woman at helm of the affairs at the Pakistan embassy in Washington gave her the edge in the politically correct era of politics in America. A point which was underscored by Florida’s attorney-general, Katharine Harris, crucial to Mr Bush’s election last year, who at an inaugural party after meeting Ms Lodhi reportedly expressed shock and surprise that Pakistan has a woman ambassador in Washington. Her perception: Pakistan was a fundamentalist Islamic society, where woman are not allowed outside their homes.
So it was no surprise that last Thursday (July 11) at her farewell reception, the Washington diplomatic corps , including the State Department, Defence Department, Pentagon, Justice Department, National Security Council, World Bank, IMF and the Capitol Hill staffers turned up in full force to bid her bon voyage.
But the surprise of the farewell evening was the presence of Indian ambassador Lalitman Singh who makes it a point to attend receptions hosted by his Pakistan counterpart even when the two nations are pitted in a standoff on the borders.
His presence there gave an opportunity to Pakistanis in general and news reporters in particular to debate him on the current crisis. At one point it seemed as though the Pakistan journalists wanted to settle the Kashmir dispute right then and there.
With calm and poise he sparred with the journalists but stood by his country’s position on the recent standoff and kept saying: “Let’s wait for the results in India’s Kashmir elections and Pakistan elections in October.”
Then there was Wendy Chamberlin, the former US ambassador to Pakistan, who has been appointed assistant secretary at the US AID agency. Responding to questions about her life after Pakistan, she quipped: “My children who made such a big deal about my coming back home seem to have disappeared doing things that they do.”
“I will miss Pakistan. My short stint in Pakistan was memorable and I have great memories. Although I will miss Pakistan, I intend to stay involved with my new assignment at the AID agency” she said. Besides Ms Chamberlin, two other former ambassadors to Pakistan, William Milam and John Monjo, were there talking about their Pakistan experience. A former caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, Moeen Qureshi, when asked by journalists about his opinion on the state of affairs in Pakistan, said: “Let me tell you Pakistan is strong and vibrant and will remain so. Have some faith. I am sure we will overcome this crisis also.” Ms Lodhi, on her part, looked overwhelmed with the outpouring of goodwill and affection shown to her by the American officials and the Pakistani community members who kept on asking her: “So when are you coming back?” or “What are your plans for the future? Any political role in the elections ?”
Ms Lodhi refused to be drawn in a discussion about her future in Pakistan’s politics. However, in an interview with the Washington Post on the day she received award as Ambassador of the Year, she said: “It is best to leave when there is no crisis. I want to go home and observe first-hand what is going on,” two months ahead of planned elections in October. “The next phase is going to be decisive for Pakistan’s future.”
For Ms Lodhi the past decade was the most testing for Pakistan-US relations. From the most “allied ally” during the cold war, Pakistan had become the “most sanctioned” friend of the United States in the post-cold war era.
“Professionally, sanctions remained much of the pre- occupation during my years in Washington — constantly arguing that they were a blunt and punitive instrument, entirely counter- productive in our case” she told Post.
“In my first tour of duty, we fought hard the infamous, discriminatory, Pakistan-specific Pressler Amendment. Thankfully, the Brown Amendment was the outcome of shared labour of all fair-minded people in Congress, the Clinton administration, and the Pakistani-American community.
“But, at best, we then got only a temporary reprieve. Today, we have — in a very long time — a relationship free of sanctions. Indeed, from being the most ‘sanctioned’ country, Pakistan became a de-sanctioned country immediately after 9/11. And it was due largely to the strategic choices made by President Musharraf at a critical juncture in our history,” she said.
In her speech at the Women ambassadors dinner where she was honoured, Ms Lodhi said: “The second most important challenge that I have had to contend with, on the professional plane, is public perceptions and media depictions of my country and our policies.
“The objective there was twofold: the need to fight intentional or unintentional misrepresentations; and a positive struggle to capture the ‘hearts and minds.’ The idea was to serve as a kind of a bridge to promote better mutual understanding. “This has remained a constant endeavour, entailing close interaction with think-tankers, talks on campuses, sessions with editorial boards, background briefings to reporters, and, not the least, TV appearances.
“For the last one, I think I can share it with you, in confidence, how hard it was to curb our traditional South Asian verbosity and come up with a sound-byte or two every time in order to make your case simply, coherently and succinctly to a viewing public, proverbially short on attention span.”
By the time she leaves Washington (end of July), Ms Lodhi could give many more such soundbytes to the American media which is still clamouring for interviews on the situation in the South Asia. Wolf Blitzer of CNN was seen at her reception goading her for yet another interview.
Ms Lodhi leaves here on an upbeat note but there is much more work to be done. About her future plans, she says: “I will make that decision when I go back home and weigh my options.”