Al-Qaeda or Al-Faida?

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 20. Has the Al-Qaeda, the ``all-pervasive'' network of Osama proving to be an Al-Faida (all-beneficial) movement for Pakistan?

This is the joke doing the rounds in diplomatic and journalistic circles here as heads of States and important Ministers, particularly from the West, are making a beeline to Pakistan with all sorts of goodies as a ``reward'' for its ``bold'' decision to side with the U.S.

On Thursday, the visiting British Secretary of State for International Development, Ms. Claire Short, announced the waiver of £20 million due from Islamabad on account of interest it has to pay for the loans it has raised. On Friday, it was the turn of the German Foreign Minister, Mr. Joschka Fischer, to show the solidarity of his country with the people and leadership of Pakistan for its ``courageous'' actions in the last few weeks.

Washington which has already waived the nuclear and democracy- related sanctions against Pakistan, on Thursday announced $50 millions as economic aid in addition to the $50 millions sanctioned last month. Japan and the European Union have pledged big sums for the welfare of the estimated 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The German Chancellor, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, has decided to include Islamabad in his trip to New Delhi and Beijing. For three days, the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Powell, was here and promised to send a strong message to his colleagues in Washington to address Pakistan's debt problem. Last week, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, made a special trip for a meeting with the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The editor of the Urdu daily, Ausaf, Mr. Hamid Mir, has this to say about the radically changed attitude of the West towards Islamabad.

``Last night, the Finance Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, arranged a dinner for the visiting British Minister. From Federal Ministers to the U.S. envoy here were present on the occasion. Every second guest was asking Mr. Shaukat Aziz whether his policy of cooperating with the U.S. against Osama was benefiting the country or not.''

``Mr. Aziz said that the British Minister had announced writing off loans of £24 millions. Though it was not a huge amount, he was confident that Pakistan would gain more in the coming days. A policy-maker personality after hearing the Finance Minister whispered in my ear, `don't worry, in comparison to Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda Movement, our Al-Faida (benefits) movement would succeed'''.

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Section  : International
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