U.S. aid can lessen, but not remove Pakistan mistrust

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's pledge for new development projects for Pakistan is an important step to win favour with its sceptical people but may not be enough to overcome deep mistrust and anti-American sentiment.

Clinton this week announced a raft of development projects for Pakistan, a vital ally for the United States in its efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan but where anti-American sentiment runs high.

While Washington's latest aid worth $500 million (329 million pounds) can contribute to changing Pakistanis' perception about the United States once they start reaping benefits from these projects, it is an uphill task to overcome decades old mistrust.

"Public opinion will change with the change in ground realities," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a security analyst.

"Anti-American propaganda will get negated to some extent once these projects are realised but the Pakistani public will largely remain sceptical because anti-Americanism is very strong here."

Mistrust of U.S. policies in Pakistan partly stems from Washington's decision to turn away from its Cold War era ally after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.

Anti-American sentiment runs high mainly in Pakistani border regions with Afghanistan which traditionally have been strongholds of anti-U.S. hardline Islamic groups. These regions have turned into sanctuaries for al Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

U.S. missile strikes in these areas by pilotless drones, which sometimes hit civilians, have deepened anti-U.S. feeling.

Several development projects announced by Clinton -- including dams and power generation -- will be undertaken in these militancy-stricken border regions which is seen as an attempt to shore up support among Pashtun tribes.

LINGERING MISTRUST

But many people doubt that U.S. aid would help reduce ill-feeling for the United States.

"We don't need dams. We need peace," Islamuddin, a tribesman in North Waziristan region on the Afghan border said. "Such projects are a big joke with us."

While expressing support for Pakistan, Clinton also raised Washington's concerns with the Pakistani leaders, which many people say is reflective of "well-entrenched" mistrust between two countries which suspect but also need each other.

"Hillary's iron fist in a velvet glove," Dawn newspaper ran a headline on its front page.

Speaking at a roundtable of journalists on Monday in Islamabad, she said both the United States and Pakistan should work harder to go after al Qaeda leaders who she still believed to be hiding in Pakistan's borderlands in the northwest.

The United States has long been pushing Pakistan to extend its offensive against militants who launch cross-border attacks on foreign forces in Afghanistan.

But Islamabad is reluctant to do so, saying it is too tied down with homegrown militants who challenge the Pakistani state.

Despite lingering mistrust, Clinton said the uneasy allies would work together.

"There is a legacy of suspicion that we inherited ... It's not going to be eliminated overnight," she told a news conference.

"However, our goal is to slowly but surely demonstrate that the United States is concerned about Pakistan for the long-term and our partnership goes far beyond security."

(Additional reporting by Haji Mujtaba in MIRANSHAH and Sahar Ahmed in KARACHI; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sugita Katyal)