Khar, Kayani in Brussels: Pakistan wins praise, but is it enough?

BRUSSELS:  Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s impressive and gruelling two-day effort to make friends and influence European and Nato policymakers has resulted in a wave of strong pro-Pakistan rhetoric from the likes of Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general.

 

But talk — although diplomats, including the very articulate Ms Rabbani, clearly thrive on it — is not enough.
What the EU and Nato want from Pakistan are good policies and determined action in areas as varied as relations with Afghanistan, Pakistan-India ties and domestic policies which protect human rights and help combat extremism, discrimination and religious persecution.

While she may have succeeded in injecting some much-needed life into EU-Pakistan relations and helped to stabilise Islamabad’s often volatile relationship with Nato, building stronger ties with both organisations will require more time, effort and hard work.

The outlook is improving. Pakistan is certainly moving up the EU agenda and Nato also has no doubts that Islamabad cannot be ignored or sidelined in the run-up to 2014 and the drawdown of foreign troops in Afghanistan.

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