WASHINGTON — Inside Pakistan’s warm welcome and promises of a “new beginning” extended to U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke on Tuesday was a warning that more is expected from the United States in return for cooperation against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Statements by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani after meeting with the envoy, who is in Islamabad on the first stop of a regional tour, emphasized the need to “expedite” a new, multibillion- dollar U.S. aid package, and “the importance of enhanced cooperation in defense and intelligence sharing.”
Holbrooke said only that he was there “to listen and learn the ground realities.”
The visit is the first step in what the Obama administration sees as a complex and delicate effort to stabilize Pakistan’s civilian democracy.
