The Clinton visit amid growing trust deficit

She was all smiles. And why wouldn she be, Pakistan finalized trade parameters with Afghanistan paving a strong position for her negotiations in Kabul. Hillary Clintons visit to Islamabad earlier this week seemed more like a photo-op than the second round of the strategic dialogue.
Easing anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and securing continued military support have been key challenges for the US Secretary of State. Media in the West claims she made progress but a poll on an online media outlet in Pakistani found that 83 percent still harbour mistrust for the ally.
Towing along a gift package worth $500 million, Clinton hoped to assuage concerns that American interests are limited to security. The long awaited allocation of funds to projects is certainly a welcome development.
And, she blew the cap from the tacit agreement over the Sino-Pakistan civil nuclear programme. International concerns and fears of proliferation were pressed in a press conference that focussed on mistrust.
A quick review of the two deals clarifies that China is investing in projects worth more than $1 billion while the US is merely allocating $500 million from the previously announced Kerry Lugar Bill money.
It doesn take the sharpest tool in the shed to figure out which of the two deals is more valuable for the strategic interests of Pakistan.
Before Pakistan could squarely side with the Big Red on the issue, she hinted at talks of a US-Pakistan nuclear programme. It comes with the catch of approval from the international community, which is anything but likely.
The backdrop for the talks at the foreign office signifies the red and blue colours of the US flag. But the green and white to denote Pakistan was left out for the blue. Minor, but thought provoking as to how much the decision makers want to bend backwards to please American diplomats.
Islamabad prepared a strategic paper of key areas of cooperation with Washington, including water disputes and Kashmir. But Americas line of non-involvement on those fronts only undermines Pakistans ability to support its military combat on the Western border.
In complete contrast, trade negotiations with Afghanistan were showered with American pressure to grant all sorts of concessions to Kabul.
Perhaps what stung the most was Hillarys elief that Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan.
That is where the mistrust brews from. US leaders must realize that the common man in Pakistan is neither naïve of US interests in the region nor is he desperate enough to succumb to peanuts in the name of aid.