Many politicians,retired army generals and popular TV talk show hosts in Pakistan have made up their minds that America is on the warpath with their country. News TV has been discussing possible scenarios of how Pakistan should react if the US attacks. One channel has aired a war anthem. Why cannot we snap diplomatic relations (with the US)? asked Shuja Khanzada,a retired colonel,during a live talk show on Tuesday on Dunya TV. On Monday,Hamid Mir,the host of Capital Talk,a talk show on Geo,started the show asking,Is United States going to attack on the ground in Pakistan? Mir asked Asma Jahangir,the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association,what would happen if,in response to an American attack,Pakistan blocked NATO supply lines to Afghanistan. Jahangir shot back: America hasnt launched any attack yet,and you are talking this way. Another participant,Abdul Qayum,a retired lieutenant general,said that an American attack was a possibility. When columnist Farukh Saleem said the media had put more fuel on the fire,Qayum retorted that US statements were an insult to the whole nation. You cannot trust Americans, Qayum said. There is a history of betrayal. In Khari Baat on Dunya,Lt Gen. Hamid Gul,a former ISI chief,said that American threats were a blessing in disguise,as they had united the nation. The US,Gul said,wants to give India a proxy role in Afghanistan,but American actions risked the dangers of a third world war. In an interview,former senator Enver Baig said: US elections are approaching closer and Americans want a safe and respectable exit from Afghanistan and are scapegoating Pakistan. The majority of the public is anti-American despite the fact that the US is the biggest donor to Pakistan. The US has not been able to convert this into goodwill. American PR in Pakistan is very poor, he said.SALMAN MASOOD
