SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 1: US policies in Pakistan are fostering suspicion and hatred against America, the Los Angeles Times reported today in a special report about Pakistan.
The paper said that the US officials acknowledge that the struggle for hearts and minds is more than a public relations war and the stakes in Pakistan are among the highest.
Pakistani politicians and business leaders who once looked to America for ideas and support are strengthening ties with the Muslim world and China, the paper said adding "Anti-Americanism has become a powerful tool for religious militants. Even well-meaning US efforts, such as aiding schools, are viewed with suspicion".
Ten years ago, an inquisitive young Pakistani would have been encouraged to apply to a US university, where he could have absorbed American pluralism, MTV, fast food and baseball, the paper said, Now Pakistani students are going to Australia, Britain and Canada rather than the United States.
NO EVIDENCE OF AID: On the three billion dollars in US assistance to Pakistan as reward of its assistance in the "war on terrorism", the paper said that most Pakistanis never see direct evidence of the US aid.
It pointed out that Pakistani officials and business leaders are disappointed at the US administration's decision not to provide more opportunities for textile and apparel manufacturers, who produce two-thirds of Pakistan's exports.
"These factories suffered a flurry of cancelled orders and a 20 per cent drop in prices after the Sept. 11 attacks. Under pressure from domestic manufacturers, Washington has given Pakistan expanded access in only a few little-used categories," the paper said.
Pakistan, like India, has been a leading supplier of doctors to underserved American communities. But since the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has become less welcoming. Some small exchange programs remain, but over the last two years the number of Pakistanis coming for business, tourism and short-term education plummeted almost by half, to about 31,000.
Many Pakistanis no longer want to visit US, the paper said because Pakistani visitors, including former Pakistani government officials, journalists and businesspeople, are routinely pulled aside for questioning and searches.
Pakistanis say that because none of their fellow citizens were implicated in the 9/11 attacks, they have been unfairly singled out, Los Angeles Times pointed out.
In December 2002, Pakistan was added to the list of countries whose male citizens were required to register with US immigration authorities. At least 1,650 people were eventually deported to Pakistan, many on minor immigration offences, said Mohammad Sadiq, the deputy chief of mission at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. He said that an additional 5,000 to 10,000 left voluntarily, afraid of being caught up in security sweeps.
Fifty-eight Pakistanis were detained at Guantanamo Bay, where US authorities are holding alleged enemy combatants, Sadiq said. All but three have been sent back to Pakistan, where a small number have been detained by the government for further investigation.