Pakistan's Fear of a New East-India Company

by Shiza Shahid

shiza89@stanford.edu

This summer, a Pakistani friend of mine described U.S. policy in Pakistan as that of a “new East-India Company.” Her view - that America is pursuing a grand policy of colonial expansion and Pakistan is merely a pawn in its grand plans - is shared by much of the Pakistani masses. Every time I go to Pakistan I am struck by the level of mistrust and suspicion towards the U.S. Everything that goes on in Pakistan is believed to be controlled by the U.S. to an extent that would  humble even Big Brother.

The general public belief in Pakistan is that that U.S. is acting on a grand conspiracy to destabilize and denuclearize the country. In Pakistan’s popular Urdu Newspaper, Jang, the Pakistani columnist Ansar Abbasi recently wrote an article called “America’s Pakistan” wherein he claimed that Pakistan is being governed at America’s whims. He went on to say that those who we popularly call extremists are simply those who are America’s enemies. “God Forbid, tomorrow if Pakistan, like Afghanistan is also occupied by a foreign invader, will those who fight against the occupying force also be called extremists? [Then] may God save us Pakistanis from becoming [what the Americans call] progressive-minded people…”

Some recent grievances against the U.S. that are being voiced in the press nowadays include the belief that the U.S. has been using the services of Blackwater in Pakistan, continuing opposition to the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, belief that the U.S. provided safe exit to former President Musharraf, theories claiming that the entire Taliban/extremist insurgency is being led and funded by the U.S. and sentiments that the U.S. is giving preferential treatment to India. At the same time there have been some voices of moderation admitting that American foreign policy has been flawed and self-serving, but not conspiratorial and all-encompassing to the extent that is believed by the Pakistani masses. While these voices of moderation are overwhelmed by the general anti-Americanism pervading Pakistan, they also carry the key to creating a stronger relationship between America and the Pakistani people.

Flickr photo by Muhammad used under a Creative Commons License