Hope and Change?

Put together the "Hope and Change" promise of President Obama with the action hero quality of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and you would get someone like Imran Khan, the cricket  star who is trying to make a difference in Pakistan's politics. Unfortunately, most Pakistanis told us he's perceived more like Texas Congressman Ron Paul; voters may be intrigued by his ideas but they feel his Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party has no chance to form a winning coalition. Winning is important to the man who led Pakistan to its only World Cup win in 1992. But in trying to break the hold of widespread corruption, family dynasties, military dominance and tribal customs in Pakistani politics, he may be taking on an opponent that will be tougher to beat.

Pakistan's political parties tend to decorate the landscape with oversized pictures of their leaders and there was no shortage of Khan posters, like this one in Saidpur Village. But when our group of visiting American journalists interviewed Khan at his home in Islamabad, we met a politician who gives the physical impression of being larger than life.
 
The spacious villa with its commanding valley view would not have been out of place in an upscale Florida country club, and it was tastefully decorated in the British colonial style. Even the dog, Sherni, gave the impression of steadfastness, except for the occasional howl.

Khan, the 59-year-old divorced father of two, welcomed us to a veranda and explained his bold promise to end corruption in Pakistan within 90 days of taking office. Larisa Epatko of the PBS News Hour posted some audio from our interview. Listen here.

 Khan speaks with understandable pride of his charitable endeavors, reflecting the belief of many Pakistanis that private citizens can accomplish things that the government cannot. And when speaking with college students in Karachi, we could tell that his ideas have planted a seed with his supporters in the younger generation. It's too early to tell if he score with voters when the next elections take place later this year or next year, but I wouldn't bet against him. It will be fascinating to watch.

What Did Pakistan know about Osama bin Laden?

Since 9/11 most Americans have come to accept additional security checks and other restrictions on their privacy as part of the war on terrorism. But submitting to a TSA body scan at the airport is a small thing compared to the way the war on terror affects everyday life in Pakistan. According the the Sustainable Policy Development Institute, Pakistan spends 65% of its budget on the military, leaving only 35% percent for energy, education and other needs of a developing country.
Armed guards are not just for government buildings here, but a necessity for offices and factories and even some homes. It's an environment that scares away badly needed foreign investment. Even Pakistan's national sports pastime, cricket, has suffered because of a terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan team in 2009; international matches can no longer be played in Pakistan. One analyst explained that "terrorism damages the brand name" of the entire country.

Pakistan's brand was further damaged by the revelation that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in plain sight in Abottabad, a city near the capital that is also home to a major military academy. When Navy Seals raided the compound in May 2011, killing the man believed chiefly responsible for the 9/11 attacks, many Americans saw it as proof that Pakistan can't be trusted to track down even the most notorious terrorists. Our group of visiting American journalists had a number of opportunities to question what the Pakistanis knew about Bin Laden's whereabouts and why they didn't do more to help bring him to justice. Riaz Khokar, a former foreign secretary and ambassador to India, China and the U.S, said it was unlikely Pakistani intelligence knew of OBL's hideout: "If you look at the house, remember the first story was that it was a $20 million mansion but it wasn't even worth $20,000," he said. "Believe me, the man was living there in squalor and penury. You just had to see the pictures of the filth and dirt. He had no security, no men with guns and rifles. I'm not justifying it, I'm just saying that if he was a guest of the government of Pakistan I can assure you he wouldn't have been living like that." Listen to his comment here.


Other officials insisted on being "off the record" so they could speak more freely about the US-Pakistan relationship. We didn't speak with any Pakistanis who felt the need to apologize or explain how Pakistan could fail to notice the presence of the world's most wanted terrorist. Instead, there was a feeling that the US should apologize for violating Pakistani sovereignty by conducting the OBL raid. It was just part of an often repeated wish list that included:

• a formal US apology for the deadly Nov. 11 airstrike on Pakistani troops;
• multi-billion dollar reimbursement for Pakistan's expenses in the war on terror;
• energy considerations, including civilian nuclear power and a possible gas pipline from Iran;
• end to drone strikes;
• more non-military aid from the US without strings attached.

On the American side, it was no surprise to hear that Pakistan's wish list is "not happening." American military analysts acknowledge the difficulties Pakistan is facing in trying to gain control of the tribal areas where Taliban fighters move back and forth across the Afghan border. Extremists sometimes take refuge in villages that straddle the border, making it difficult to say for sure where Afghanistan ends and Pakistani sovereignty begins. "It's their Vietnam," said one military expert, describing the frustration of battle-weary Pakistani troops and their families. Conspiracy theories thrive in Pakistan, including the possibility that the military is in on the drone strikes on terrorist targets, but allows the US to take the blame. Another unproven theory holds that the US wants to seize Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Pakistan responded to widespread anti-American public sentiment by closing supply routes to NATO coalition troops in Afghanistan, forcing the US to find "another way to do business"  with 1,000 truckloads a day. A briefing from a top army general revealed Pakistan's pride in its military, from actions against Al Qaeda to the role of women in a variety of key assignments. Americans, on the other hand, describe Pakistan's armed forces as "professional but not modern."

One American noted that the US tends to focus on what's happening today, while the Pakistanis feel the pent-up resentment of history. It's impossible to discuss US-Pak relations for very long without someone invoking the name of Richard Holbrooke, the influential US diplomat who was serving as a special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of his death in 2010. Holbooke raised expectations of a fresh start in US-Pak relations, and Riaz Khokar is among those who hope for better days. "We have been friends, allies," he said. "We have shed blood together."

Update: In July 2012, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was "sorry" for the raid that mistakenly killed Pakistani troops last year. Pakistan reopened the supply routes. However, drone strikes continue to strain US-Pak relations.

Cone of death?

A lot of people have asked me if I was in any danger in Pakistan. Turns out one of the riskiest things I did was... eating an ice cream cone!
It was a hot and dusty day in Islamabad as I walked through Saidpur Village, and the soft-serve ice cream was hard to resist. But when I caught up with the rest of the group, our leader Ann Hartman screamed in horror. As a former peace corps volunteer in the region, Ann knew that soft-serve ice cream from a street vendor can be poison if it's made with unpasteurized milk or polluted water.
I went back to the hotel and waited for the cone of death to strike me down, but fortunately I had no symptoms of gastric distress. Whew!

Wanna buy a goat?

A short walk from Saidpur Village was a goat market. Except for a few moms escorting their kids through the market on their way home from school, I was the only woman there. But I was treated with both courtesy and curiosity by the goat sellers.

 One spoke a few words of English and insisted I take this picture of him with one of his nicest goats. The going price is the equivalent of around $70, I was told, but maybe that's what they charge the tourists. However, I had to decline. This is one souvenir that would never get past the USDA.

Saidpur Village

My Lonely Planet tour book describes Saidpur Village in Islamabad as "model village" set to open in 2008 to "showcase Pakistani cultural handicrafts and traditions." 

Visiting on a Friday afternoon in 2012, the reality was hardly a showcase. There were several upscale restaurants, but most of the shops seemed to be struggling or abandoned, and the only pottery for sale was at a small roadside stand. 

But it was a welcome break from government policy briefings because of the actual village adjoining the tourist attraction. 

Children eagerly jumped in front of our cameras as we picked our way along the stream that runs through the settlement. Their faces are unforgettable.

Threats to Journalists

 Visiting the Ministry of Information in Islamabad was like a trip in a time machine. It's a throwback to when "journalists" in Pakistan worked only for state-controlled media, dutifully distributing government press releases. The minister, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, sat at the head of a long conference table. We were seated among the members of her sizable staff. The lights dimmed and we were shown a 14 minute video called "Vibrant Pakistan." A narrator with a soothing American accent assured us of Pakistan's stable business and political climate, and even the war-torn tribal regions were presented as enticing tourist destinations.
 Watch the video here.
 
The minister was more politician than spokeswoman. She is also a sitting member of Parliament from the ruling PPP, the center-left party of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's family. Dr. Awad spoke of the "gap of perception and reality" between Pakistan and the US, saying international partners "have not helped us the way we were expecting." She criticized US drone attacks on terrorist targets as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty and said "our friends have not given us the political space to explain why we have to be with them as a power," quickly adding, "no one wants to disassociate from the USA."

The gap between perception and reality was most obvious when the discussion turned to the threats facing journalists and what the government might do to improve their security. The minister said the threats were "fabricated" and directed against "oversmart guys who put their own interest ahead of the national interest."
When a Pakistani stringer for a US news organization respectfully challenged her statement by telling how he had once been seized and warned not to include certain facts in his reporting, the minister did not budge. She went on to criticize sensationalism in privately-owned media that has developed in the past decade. "Free media is a new concept for us," she said. "You can have a proper security cover (for journalists), but they need proper training." On that note, it was time to adjourn for refreshments and photo opportunities.

UPDATE: We met other Pakistani journalists who told us of the dangers they face. One of them was found strangled to death less than a month later. Read the article by John Diaz in the San Francisco Chronicle here.

After I returned to the US and had time to do a little more research, I learned that Dr Awan had turned in her resignation in December 2011, when she was criticized for her response to "memogate." The scandal involved a memo in which representatives of Pakistan's civilian government allegedly asked for US help in curbing the power of Pakistan's military. Shortly after our visit, she was reassigned to the Ministry of National Regulations and Services. Her replacement is another PPP politician, Qamar Zaman Kaira. His bio says he is known as "one who raised his voice for freedom of speech and democracy during the military government in the country." Only time will tell if he will confront the forces of darkness and make Pakistan a safer place for journalists. A good place to start would be demanding more effective law enforcement to catch, convict and punish those who harm journalists. For another dose of reality, read this excellent Q and A with assistant editor Sajid Hussain of the News International in Karachi, one of the Pakistani journalists on our exchange.Read the article in Global Journalist here.

It's hard to see the role of the "Ministry of Information" in modern public relations. It's not just Pakistani journalists who need training; government spokespersons need to learn their role in responding to press inquiries and communicating with the public. Freedom of information and transparency should be encouraged in all public agencies, rather than having one "Big Brother" that gives out only self-serving propaganda and runs state-owned broadcasting media in its own interest.

Faisal Mosque

The Shah Faisal Mosque is one of the largest mosques in Asia, with its four minarets towering over Islamabad at the foot of the Margalla Hills. According to Lonely Planet, there's an urban legend that the CIA once suspected the towers of being missiles in disguise.


Funded mostly by the Saudis, and designed by a Turkish architect, the building cost $45 million and took more than 10 years to complete. The design is a departure from the usual dome with sloping geometric lines inspired by desert tents.

Visitors must observe the usual protocol and remove shoes. Women must cover their heads. The main prayer hall can accommodate 8,500 men and 1,500 women. Our group was swallowed up in the vast space as we posed for pictures.



We visited Islamabad shortly before Easter, and in this Muslim country it was surprising to see a display of Easter bunnies in the hotel lobby. Perhaps it was an effort to make international guests feel a little more at home, or just a celebration of spring.