ISLAMABAD // The United States pressed a hard case with a difficult ally during two-day diplomatic offensive in Pakistan. It warned Pakistan to dismantle the militant Taliban safe havens in the country's north-west and asked for its assistance in bringing those militants who are willing to lay down their arms to the peace negotiations in Afghanistan.
Pakistan is unlikely to do either to US satisfaction, leaving a critical counterterrorism partnership on uncertain terms.
"For too long, extremists have been able to operate here in Pakistan and from Pakistani soil," Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said on Friday at a joint news conference with Hina Rabbani Khar, the Pakistani foreign minister.
"No one who targets innocent civilians, whether they be Pakistanis, Afghans, Americans or anyone else should be tolerated or protected."
The US has long urged Pakistan to launch a military operation in the North Waziristan tribal region. It is home to the Haqqani network, the Afghan insurgents who have mounted attacks on American forces inside Afghanistan and operate from both sides of the porous border.
In statement in September, Admiral Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, termed the Haqqani network a "veritable army of the ISI", the Pakistani intelligence agency.
Ms Clinton described the militant group as a threat to both sides of the border. "We asked very specifically for greater cooperation from the Pakistani side to squeeze the Haqqani network," she said. "You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours."
But Ms Kahr insisted that Pakistan and the US shared the same goal.
"There is no question of any support by any Pakistani institution to safe havens in Pakistan" for militants of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, Ms Khar said. "Let me be unequivocal and completely clear about that."
Ms Clinton arrived in the capital late last week with David Petraeus, the director of Central Intelligence Agency, and General Martin Dempsy, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The unusually strong delegation was aimed at sending a signal to the Pakistanis that there was unity among the US policymakers.
"The United States is looking for the Pakistani military to weaken the Haqqani network ... and also bring the group to the bargaining table," said Arif Rafiq, an analyst based in Washington.
Pakistan's top army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and its intelligence chief, Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, have both resisted American pressure to launch a military operation in North Waziristan.
Privately, Pakistani officials complain about the way US conducts its diplomacy. "There will be always a very limited scope of cooperation with the US," said a senior Pakistani military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Because of the anti-American sentiment on the street, the religious right and the radicals".
"The US diatribe limits and constrains this limited scope even further, making it very difficult for us to operate," the official said.
An example of Pakistani exasperation was reflected in a town hall meeting on Saturday when Ms Clinton invited questions from a selected group of Pakistanis.
"Somehow, the US is like a mother-in-law", said a Pakistani woman, drawing a loud applause and laughter. "We are trying to please you and every time you visit us, you tell us, 'you are not doing enough and need to work harder'."
With such a difference in public and official perceptions, some observers say that both US and Pakistan need to show more flexibility and tone down rhetoric.
"The fact is that Pakistan will not act against the safe haven of the Haqqanis, full stop. Both the US and Pakistan cannot prolong the current contest of who blinks first", stated the Saturday editorial of The Express Tribune, a Karachi-based English daily. "A middle ground of continued dialogue and cooperation must be found."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Associated Press
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
