Thaindian News

Islamabad, Nov 2 (IANS) Barack Obama “has to keep both Pakistan and India happy”, said a leading Pakistani daily ahead of the US president’s Nov 6-9 visit to India. It noted that Obama had been “wooed by the immense Indian business potential”.

An editorial in the Dawn said “presidents (Bill) Clinton and (George W.) Bush and now President Obama have all been wooed by the immense Indian business potential”.

“We also know that the world has debated Pakistan in the context of terror long enough for the topic to tax India’s powers of persuasion too much. India and the US, nay the whole world, is in agreement that Pakistan must play its role in reining in the terrorists.

“What the Indians have not been able to achieve so far is to use this global Pakistani indictment to push Islamabad into a corner where it would have to give up on many of its long-standing demands.”

The editorial pointed out that India has failed to meet this end “just as Pakistan has been unsuccessful in pushing its status of a partner in the global war on terror to elicit favours from the US to India’s disadvantage”.

“Circumstances do not allow Obama to come up with an aggressive statement of a change in intent and emphasis,” it said, adding: “He (Obama) has to keep both Pakistan and India happy.”

Commenting further on Obama’s trip, the editorial said: “As previously, scorers in Pakistan and India may once again be left counting their gains by bringing out the nuances Obama chooses to punctuate his visit with.”

It went on to say that in such a complicated situation, “nuances and symbolism do matter; it is impossible to confine them to a single meaning and interpretation”.