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Did Haqqani father 'iron-clad' Kerry Lugar conditions? | While the Kerry Lugar Bill has created a furor in Pakistan due to its Army and ISI-specific conditionalities,
questions are also being raised as to who actually fathered these 'iron-clad conditions'. Fingers are being raised at the Pakistani lobbyists in Washington who were hired
by the Pakistan Embassy. The lobbyists, including Mark Siegel and Cassidy and
Associates, were supposed to work for Pakistan and were paid million of dollars,
but they were actually lobbying against Pakistan and were trying to get anti-Pakistan
conditions inserted in the Kerry-Lugar Bill, The News reports. However, experts
believe that the main culprit is Pakistan 's Ambassador to the US , Hussain Haqqani.
One could find the details of all the Army-specific conditions, mentioned in the
Kerry Lugar bill, in Haqqani's book, which was published in 2006. "The United
States must use its aid as a lever to influence Pakistan 's domestic policies."
Washington should no longer condone the Pakistani military's support of Islamic
militants, its use of its intelligence apparatus for controlling domestic politics,
and its refusal to cede power to a constitutional democratic government," the
book states in one of its chapters. "Unlike governments in other Muslim countries
like Egypt and Turkey , Pakistan 's government - particularly its military - has
encouraged political and radical Islam, which otherwise has a relatively narrow
base of support," it says. The book also stresses on the fact that the United
States can contain the Islamic influence by asking Pakistan for certain reforms
with regard to the Army and other security forces. "The United States can help
contain the Islamists' influence by demanding reform of those aspects of Pakistan
's governance that involve the military and security services. Until now, the
United States has harshly berated corrupt or ineffective Pakistani politicians
but has only mildly criticised the military's meddling," it states. |
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