October 2009

By Farhan Sharif and Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s deadliest bombing in seven months shattered a crowded market in Peshawar, killing at least 72 people as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her first official visit to the country. The explosion ripped through Meena Bazaar, where small shops selling women’s clothes line narrow lanes, in Peshawar’s historic walled city. “Bodies are scattered and badly burned,” Mohammed Naeem, a spokesman for the Edhi Ambulance Service said by phone from Pakistan’s northwestern provincial capital. The bombing, plus two attacks by militants in the Afghan capital, Kabul, escalate violence that is complicating the Obama administration’s search for a strategy to contain the Taliban and allied jihadists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today’s bombing was the deadliest since March 27, when at least 70 people died in an attack on a mosque outside Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. Pakistan’s military is engaged in a campaign to rout Islamic militants from strongholds in South Waziristan along the porous border with Afghanistan. The almost two-week assault has sparked retaliatory suicide bombings and assaults that have now claimed more than 220 lives, prompting tight security and secrecy around Clinton’s visit. Clinton, arriving in Islamabad on a three-day visit, is seeking to douse tension that flared this month over perceived conditions attached to a new U.S. assistance bill and back a military offensive against Taliban militants. She said in Washington last week the U.S. government has “not done a very good job” of countering what public opinion polls show are increasing anti-U.S. attitudes. ‘Turning the Page’ “We are turning the page on what had been in the past several years primarily a security, anti-terrorism agenda,” Clinton told reporters traveling with her. While security remains “our highest priority,” she said she’ll highlight U.S. support for the civilian government and initiatives on energy and economic development. Praising the resolve of authorities in fighting insurgents, she said it is “important for Americans and others to recognize the high price the Pakistanis are paying” in battling allies of al-Qaeda. Clinton traveled to Islamabad less than two weeks after a visit to Washington by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi . He conveyed the anger of Pakistan’s military establishment, government opponents and media over perceived strings attached to a $1.5 billion annual U.S. aid package passed by Congress last month. Motives Questioned “It is unfortunate that there are those who question our motives who are perhaps skeptical that we are going to be there for the long term,” Clinton said. Language in the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act became a rallying point for opponents of the government of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari , and she said the outcry was misplaced. “There is misunderstanding,” Clinton said. “These aren’t conditions on Pakistan so much as they are metrics for measuring whether we think our aid is being productive.” The bill requires the Secretary of State to certify civilian control of Pakistan’s military, cooperation with counter-terrorism, protection of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and compliance with international non-proliferation standards. An unrelated U.S. defense bill passed last week requires the secretaries of State and Defense to report to Congress on whether payments to Pakistan are spent in line with U.S. interests and not diverted to military spending against India. Obama’s Challenge Clinton’s visit — to include meetings with tribal elders, women, journalists, civic leaders and government officials in Islamabad and Lahore — is intended to dispel fears the U.S. will abandon the region when counterterrorism objectives are accomplished. Polls show a majority of Pakistanis disapprove of U.S. policy, especially unmanned air strikes on suspected insurgent hideouts in tribal regions. Strong anti-American sentiment could “jeopardize the U.S. ability to partner with Pakistan effectively,” said Lisa Curtis , a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. The Kerry-Lugar-Berman civilian aid bill signed this month by President Barack Obama authorizes $7.5 billion over five years for road construction, schools, power facilities and livelihood projects. It’s in addition to about $7.6 billion in U.S. military payments to reimburse Pakistan for counterterrorism spending since 2001. Kabul Attack Obama is weighing how to address a worsening regional insurgency eight years after the Sept. 11 terror attack on the U.S. and the retreat of its architects into tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghan border. In Kabul today, gunmen stormed a United Nations guesthouse and killed six UN workers in an attack the Taliban said was aimed at disrupting next month’s Afghan presidential runoff election. Eight more U.S. troops killed by bombings in Afghanistan made October the deadliest month for the U.S. since its 2001 invasion. Since May, the Pakistani army has cracked down on extremists who previously enjoyed some support from authorities. That has sparked an internal refugee crisis, suicide bombings, assaults on military bases and the assassination of an army brigadier this month. The attacks have diminished public sympathy for religious extremists. Collaboration Asked if Pakistani security services had ceased to collaborate with militant groups they have sponsored as proxies in skirmishes with India, Clinton said, “We are constantly assessing that, because it remains a concern. “The level of cooperation that we have received from the Pakistani military and intelligence services has increased geometrically” since Obama took office in January, she said. “Nine months is not a lot of time to turn around a relationship that has a lot of scars,” Clinton said. To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Islamabad at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net