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 Turbulence hits Pakistani-US relationship10-03-2010A DISPUTE involving lawmakers from Pakistan's tribal areas and airport security personnel in the United States underscores how tough it is to
reverse years of U.S.-Pakistani mistrust.
The six lawmakers were en route from Washington to New Orleans on
Saturday (6) when two were tagged for further screening at the capital's
airport - scrutiny they found insulting.
They scrapped their two-week U.S. trip, which was sponsored by the State Department, and went home midway through.
The airport incident was splashed across Pakistani media on their
return, with the parliamentarians claiming they were told they would
not be subject to full-body electronic scans. Washington says those
assurances were not given.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he regretted how the
procedures were perceived by the lawmakers. A U.S. airport security
official said the measures were "an essential part" of the
multilayered approach to keep the public safe.
Either way, the outcome was embarrassing for the Obama administration
and feeds into a pattern of Pakistani hostility and suspicions over
U.S. intentions in the region.
"We are genuinely trying to improve relations but it doesn't mean
there will not be misunderstandings along the way," said Larry
Schwartz, a senior spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, who
accompanied the parliamentarians.
Alexander Thier from the U.S. Institute of Peace said:"Behaviour on
both sides is duplicitous. The Pakistanis do not feel they are equal
or respected partners by the United States. They feel mistreated."
The trust deficit, said former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Wendy
Chamberlin, is one of the chief obstacles to improvements in the
relationship.
There have been signs recently of better understanding, with
Washington praising Pakistan after the arrest in Karachi of a top
Afghan Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
But the high-level arrest raised questions over whether the detention
had more to do with Pakistan securing its own interests in the region
than helping Washington as it fights militants in neighboring
Afghanistan.
Experts point out that any newfound cooperation from Pakistan is not
uniform across the government and its institutions, citing tensions
between the military and President Asif Ali Zardari, the civilian
president.
The US remains deeply unpopular with certain sections of the Pakistani population. 
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