Pakistan violence giving U.S. officials fits

TEHRAN, Oct.1 (MNA) -- The demonstrations condemning the recent anti-Islam film in Pakistan over the past few days have raised serious concerns among U.S. officials, and they are expecting incidents in Pakistan similar to what happened to their consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi. In the cities of Peshawar, Karachi, and Lahore, the Pakistani police appeared incapable of controlling the popular demonstrations in front of U.S. consulates, and this compelled the U.S to close down these consulates and transfer their staff members to Islamabad, where the security situation seems to be better. After the anti-Islam movie was posted on the internet, massive anti-U.S. demonstrations were held in Muslim countries, and the protests reached a boiling point in Pakistan. Pakistanis were already angry about the U.S. drone attacks on the tribal areas in the northwest of the country, mostly concentrated in Waziristan. And the people’s resentment toward the United States has doubled in Pakistan since the production of the amateurish film. However, it seems the demonstrations will have no effect on relations between Washington and Islamabad. The Pakistani government has repeatedly rejected the popular demands calling for the severance of diplomatic ties with the United States. Islamabad is actually using its cooperation with the U.S. as a tool to counter the rising influence of India in the region. Thus, Pakistani officials view the joint military operation against the insurgents as vital to their national security. The massive demonstrations in Pakistan over the past few days clearly show that it is imperative that the Pakistani government reengineer its strategic partnership with the United States. Otherwise, the protests may turn into huge nationwide riots, and there would be serious blowback for Pakistan over its policy of having close relations with the United States. Pirmohammad Mollazehi is an expert on Pakistan and Afghanistan based in Tehran. (By Pirmohammad Mollazehi)