Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistanis give three kinds of reasons for negative feelings about America. One involves U.S. policies toward Pakistan such as failure to come to Pakistan's aid during the Bangladesh crisis, using Pakistan for its own interests, and opposition to Pakistan's peaceful nuclear program. A second deals with American global policy, including support of Israel, opposition to Iran's present government, and use of force against small Third World nations. The third includes American involvement in Pakistan—for example, support of the military regime, obstructing a settlement of the Afghan issue, and responsibility for the decline in the value of the local currency. Most Pakistanis are uneasy about the relationship with America as opposed to being hostile. American support of Israel, India, and military dictators has undone a lot of the goodwill gained in other ways. Religious, ethnic, and cultural differences are rejected by most people as a basis of anti-American feelings. Speculation about interference in Pakistan's internal affairs and responsibility for former Prime Minister Bhutto's assassination have provided a basis for more ordinary people to develop feelings of anti-Americanism.

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References

1. During her speech at the public meeting, Benazir urged the people not to burn the American flag or shout slogans against America. The Peoples Party workers have been under strict orders to prevent such incidents since April 1986 but without much success.

2. This article is based largely on 40 interviews conducted between February and July 1987 with students, housewives, businessmen, teachers, political workers, trade union leaders, journalists, and domestic servants. A fourth of those interviewed were women and all of those interviewed belonged to the province of Punjab.

3. Local leftist parties and groups make substantial claims regarding their role in creating public consciousness against America, but, because of their own disunity and limited following, it is difficult to judge how accurate such claims are. The Awami National Party, the Mazdoor Kisan Party, and the Peoples Party, during 1969 and 1970, as well as sections of the trade union movement have doubtless played a role.

4. Most Pakistanis agree that the 1965 war against India and the stopping of the supply of spare parts by the United States constituted the beginning of any large-scale anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. This was further fueled by the lack of American help in 1971 when the promised naval assistance never came to the Bay of Bengal. During the rest of the 1970s, America seemed to withdraw from this region and it was only after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that interest was revived.

5. In comparison with U.S. global policies and local Pakistani issues, American policies toward Pakistan seem the most important and were always mentioned by those interviewed.

6. The latest in this theory seems to be that Benazir Bhutto has received the approval of the Americans. One student expressed the view that Pakistani politicians must not allow America to play such a role.

7. The assumption is that a lot of the complicated arguments against American involvement in Pakistan are not comprehensible to the citizens of a country with a literacy rate of 22 percent.

8. Pakistanis are particularly unhappy that India is not subjected to the same kind of pressure with respect to its nuclear program, which includes the explosion of an atomic device in 1974.

9. The Malaria Institute incident took place in 1983. Similar incidents involving charges against missionary teachers accused of working for the CIA have also taken place. For a short while in the 1970s, the Pakistan government banned the entry of foreign visitors to universities and colleges without prior permission.

10.

Turjaman (newspaper) (Tehrik Nifaz-e-Fiqah Jafaria, Lahore) (July 1987).