Washington, August 11(ANI): Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, has accused the United States of alienating Pakistanis by coming into the country in a military fashion "with guns blazing" to conduct the unilateral raid that killed Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad hideout.
"When the Americans come into Pakistan in a military fashion, unilaterally with guns blazing, essentially they are creating fear amongst the populous, which instead of looking upon them as friends starts being suspicious," Haqqani told Washington's WTOP Radio in an exclusive interview.
He said that there are already "enough suspicions about the US" in Pakistan, which need to be addressed to "win over hearts and minds" of the populous.
"There is a lot of negativity, which the U.S. needs to fight to change public opinion and win over hearts and minds, but in a circumstance like that, to do something like this, results in more negativity," he pointed out.
The high-profile military operation that led to bin Laden's death infuriated many Pakistanis who were already seething over what has become known as the "Ray Davis" affair. Raymond Davis, a covert CIA employee, was arrested and charged with killing two armed men in Lahore on January 27, and released in March.
According to Haqqani, that affair was also handled in a very careless manner by the US.
"Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis in cold blood in the city of Lahore and another Pakistani was killed when a team that was trying to rescue him overran a bicyclist. So from the point of view of the people of Pakistan, this man just killed Pakistanis (and expected to be released because of his diplomatic status)," he said.
The envoy noted that while Pakistanis "continue to see America as a fickle ally", Americans "continue to doubt Pakistan's commitment in eliminating all forms of terrorism from its soil." (ANI)
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