LAHORE, Aug 24: Walter Russel Mead, who is Henry Kissinger senior fellow for the US foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said on Friday that Asia was rising with manpower and new markets with a potential to become the most important geo-political location for the US.
Mr Mead said this while lecturing on ‘US foreign policy towards Pakistan before and after 9/11’ organised by the Pakistan Study Centre at its auditorium.
He said the US’ geo-political focus was shifting from Europe to Asia as new markets were emerging here.
He said that many people thought of the rise of China in the perspective of rise of Asia, adding that people also considered that the US was developing relations with India to contain China.
He said even though Pakistan was less populated than India or China and was not as technologically developed as these two giants were, it was very well placed in the new Asia order and was becoming important for the US.
After 9/11, he said, the Islamic world had become a primary concern in the US foreign policy. Many people did not know about Islam before 9/11, but now Americans wanted to know and understand more about Islam.
He said the Muslims were not the cause of terrorism but solution to terrorism. He said the Muslims hated those who used Islam to invoke terror. He said the US government and politicians were now viewing the Muslims as solution to terrorism.
Mr Mead said Pakistan should keep looking for partners to keep a balance in Asia, where India, Japan and China would become stronger countries in Asia.
Mr Mead said the US thought that it was very important to resolve the Kashmir issue but it was not an easy task. He said Pakistan had itself tried many interventions to resolve the issue but failed.
He said there was a need to create better environment for the Kashmiris. He also called for continuing progress and more creativity to resolve the Kashmir issue.
PU Registrar Prof Naeem Khan, Pakistan Study Centre director Prof Mussarrat Abid and American consulate’s Kathleen Eagen also spoke.