Islamabad, Jan 12 (DPA) Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is to leave for the US Wednesday for a week-long visit during which he plans to attend the funeral of special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke.
Zardari, who took over in mid-2008, months after his wife Benazir Bhutto was murdered during an election rally, was also expected to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Zardari had decided to attend the funeral because ‘Mr. Holbrooke played a pivotal role in enhancement of the mutual relations between the US and Pakistan and his efforts to bring the two nations together cannot be forgotten’.
Some Islamist groups have criticised Zardari’s trip, saying the president was a bigger US puppet than Afghan President Hamid Karzai for attending the memorial of a low-ranking US official while Karzai is not.
As of Wednesday, the Afghan government was unable to say if it was planning to send a high-level representative to Holbrooke’s memorial.
Some Pakistani analysts have suggested that Zardari has not announced an agenda for his visit and might be using the trip to take care of personal business.
Holbrooke made frequent trips to the militancy-hit region for talks on how to defeat the Taliban insurgency and ensure peace in the neighbouring countries.
While exerting pressure on Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership to do more to eliminate militant hideouts in its tribal regions along border areas, Holbrooke also showed understanding for Islamabad’s hesitation to go all out against a movement it previously nourished for decades.
Despite differing opinions on how Pakistan should tackle the Islamist insurgency in its border areas, the two countries are in close diplomatic contact.
On Wednesday, US Vice President Joseph Biden paid a one-day visit to Islamabad to discuss security, economy and bilateral relations.
He had flown in from Afghanistan, where little enthusiasm is found about Holbrooke and his legacy.
Karzai considered the US envoy ignorant of Afghan culture and sometimes refused to meet him, Voice of America reported late last year.
The relationship between the two men had been uneasy since they clashed over allegations of widespread rigging in last year’s presidential election that won Karzai a new term in office, the report said.
