{"id":59842,"date":"2009-05-23T19:58:07","date_gmt":"2009-05-23T19:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.tehelka.com\/?p=59842"},"modified":"2009-05-23T19:58:07","modified_gmt":"2009-05-23T19:58:07","slug":"us-drone-attacks-are-predatory-foot-prints-on-pak-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/us-drone-attacks-are-predatory-foot-prints-on-pak-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018US Drone Attacks Are Predatory Foot Prints On Pak Soil\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Photo: AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nDo you agree with President Zardari\u2019s recent statement that India is not a threat or an enemy?
\n<\/strong>India should certainly not be an enemy after 60 years of conflict. We need to invest in peace and a composite dialogue that can withstand a crisis like the tragedy of Mumbai.<\/span>
\nPresident Zardari admitted that the Pakistani Army did not want the ISI chief to come to India after the Mumbai attack. What were the Army\u2019s concerns?
\n<\/strong>The ISI chief was not the level needed for dispatching to India without a pre-agreed template on the investigation would proceed. To this day, Pakistan needs more admissible evidence from India to ensure a conviction, as well as from seven other countries. This is a trans-national criminal trial and cannot be wrapped up without the requisite evidence.<\/span>
\nObama has called Zardari. Is this diplomatic pressure?
\n<\/strong>Coercive diplomacy is not a productive way to handle a crisis.<\/span>
\nDo you think the drone attacks by the US should stop?<\/strong>
\nThe drones symbolise for the Pakistani people a predatory American footprint on their soil. No Pakistani is willing to countenance a military presence that violates the country\u2019s sovereignty. These UAVs are very targeted in their approach and they help to keep al Qaeda operatives on the run, but the costs of such a military operation outweigh the benefits. The US must not confuse a tactical option with a full-fledged strategy. Better options can surely be found.<\/span>
\nAssess the PPP government\u2019s first year in power.<\/strong>
\nIt has had almost impossible challenges to surmount. While it has not been perfect at managing the domestic political game, it has survived critical roadblocks while laying an infrastructure of consensus against terrorism, for rebuilding the shattered economy, for introducing the first social sector net in the country and for working out a new formula for provincial tensions. Military options are always a last resort, as they cause displacement and loss of innocent lives, but Pakistanis are rallying to the aid of their government.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018India should certainly not be an enemy after 60 years of conflict. We need to invest in peace\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Should Nawaz Sharif rejoin the government?<\/strong>
\nYes, Nawaz Sharif is an important political stakeholder in the democratic system, and Pakistan would be better served if his party rejoined the cabinet. These are difficult times for Pakistan. Political stability and the N League\u2019s buy-in to the democratic system would help maintain focus on the main challenges facing us.<\/span>
\nWhy did you resign as a key member of the Cabinet and do you regret it?<\/strong>
\nI have clear views on the promises made by our party on upholding media freedoms, even if they oppose us. I\u2019ve no regrets over any action taken in my political career or my life.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior PPP leader Sherry Rehman tells Harinder Baweja that coercive diplomacy by the US will not work in handling the crisis in Pakistan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":59853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[6864,6865,6744,6866,48,6867,6868,519,4582,6869],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}