Pakistan Seeks to Improve Its Image to Break Away from the International Isolation

It is the summer season in Pakistan with 40 degree of temperature. When a car, while avoiding minibuses, stopped in front of the traffic light, a several boys asked to buy bundles of flowers or newspapers. Behind the boys, tall Pakistan people with well-groomed whiskers were moving fast.

When `Azan`, Islamic Salat Clock, is heard through the speakers at 4 a.m. in the morning, Pakistan people wake up and begin a day according to the Islamic law. The city mosque, including its front yard, is big enough for hundreds of thousands people to pray simultaneously.

The whole world paid attention to Southeast Asia on May 23. India invited Pakistan to hold summit talks to solve the more than fifty-year old Kashmir dispute between the two countries. Although the summit talks will be held in June or July, Pakistan does not have a large expectation.

Ashif Ezdi, assistant secretary of the foreign ministry, contested that `we have invited India for summit talks many times over the years. Finally, India is now responding to our invitation. This proves that India’s policy on Kashmir through the armed forces and foul strategies has failed.`` M. Ziawdin, director of the daily English newspaper Dawn, also said that ``India, which insisted for the isolation policy on Pakistan, came to the realization that the dispute between the two countries cannot be resolved without dialogue. Although nothing will change immediately, summit talks are positive signs.``

The British Commonwealth India achieved independence, separated into India and Pakistan, in 1947. It was the separation of Islam and Hindu. The two counties had three wars against each other over the issues of Kashmir and Bangladesh. The conflict was expanded to the competition over the Nuclear weapons. India had the Nuclear test on May 15, 1998. Soon after, Pakistan also had the Nuclear test surprising the world on May 28, 1998.

Although Pakistan people were excited about becoming a nation with the Nuclear weapons restraining India, they have different views now. When the reporter, pointing out the monument of the Nuclear test, asked a Peshawar public official what Pakistan people think about the Nuclear weapons, he said that ``everybody thinks differently.`` The positive side was that the Nuclear test had an effect of preventing India’s attack. The negative side was that the economic situation became worse due to the economic sanction by the U.S. and the bad reputation within the international community.

The Pakistan intellectuals are dissatisfied with the western reaction. Minister of Religion Muhammad Wali Raji, who has been a professor of the comparative studies of religion for 43 years, said that ``it is the western propaganda to describe us as extremists, fundamentalists, and terrorists. Islamic people are a kind of people who try not to harm not only even animals like ants and snakes, but also plants.``

The economists reacted more sensitively since the economy has become worse due to the economic sanction by the U.S. A staff in an economic organization refuted that ``we are criticized because the western media and Indian TV have described us negatively. The U.S. is attacking Pakistan through CNN without having dispatched even one soldier.``

The military government reigns Pakistan. Gen. Perez Musharraf, who seized the power through a coup detat in October 1999, is called `Chief Executive`. The government officials jokingly said that ``With the CE’s order, everything can be done.`` Ziawdin of Dawn newspaper evaluated that ``a systematic effort to prevent the corruption has been successfully to some extent.`` Another goal of Gen. Musahhar is economic reform. A diplomatic circle diagnosed that the reform of the tax system, which plans to minimize the underground economy (over 60 percent of the economy) and to eliminate the transaction without data, has not shown a visible result yet.

Gen. Musharraf has visited China and Islam countries nearby after his inauguration. He has been busy with interviews with CNN and BBC, along with the information campaign on the pending issues of Kashmir, Afghanistan, Nuclear, and terror. Despite the effort to improve the image, Pakistan is still in the middle of diplomatic isolation. The U.S. was reported to have planed to lift the economic sanction when the Pakistan foreign minister visits the U.S. during this month. Although the Pakistan Supreme Court had ruled for the coup detat as legal activity, it decided to establish the federal assembly and the local assembly before the three-year anniversary of the coup detat. It is anticipated that when the military government transfers the power to the civil government, the military circle will give the position of prime minister to the civilian. However, it will take over the presidential office after strengthening the power of the president, which currently does not have power. Some diplomats expect that there can be a general election in coming fall depending on the progress of the reform.

Hong Kwon-Heui konihong@donga.com