ISLAMABAD — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday unveiled development projects for Pakistan ranging from hydroelectric dams to hospital makeovers in hopes of reversing Pakistan perceptions that American officials view their nation through the prism of fighting terrorism while ignoring some of its most serious needs.
On her second visit to Islamabad since taking office, Clinton announced a bevy of projects aimed at tackling major infrastructure ills that wreak havoc on everyday life in Pakistan and prevent the country’s moribund economy from getting off the ground. Most of those projects were directed at severe electricity and water supply crises.
The work, totaling about $500 million, includes two hydroelectric dams, one in the mountains of northern Pakistan and the other in the militancy-troubled tribal region of South Waziristan; 13 irrigation, water storage and municipal water projects; renovation or construction of three hospitals; and overhauls of electrical distribution systems.
The Obama administration has been working to dispel Pakistan’s deep mistrust for the U.S., a wariness rooted in how Washington treated Pakistan in the years following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988-89. While Moscow occupied Afghanistan, the U.S. and Pakistan teamed up in supporting mujahedin fighters against Soviet troops. But when the Soviets left, the U.S. attention to the region dissipated.
During the Bush administration, the bulk of the billions of dollars in aid that Washington channeled to Pakistan went to the country’s military and the war on terrorism, while Pakistan’s economic and social ills went largely ignored.
“There’s a legacy of suspicion that we inherited,” Clinton said at a news conference following talks Monday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. “It’s not going to be eliminated overnight. But it’s our goal to slowly but surely demonstrate that the U.S. is concerned about Pakistan for the long term, and that the partnership goes far beyond security against our common enemies.”
A massive economic aid package enacted last year was meant to reflect Washington’s desire to reshape the relationship.
In Islamabad, Pakistanis expressed skepticism Monday about the motives behind the U.S. aid package. “They’re doing it to serve their own interests,” said Muhammad Yousaf, a tailor .
