Pakistanis Hold Demonstrations Against US Presence

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Islamabad amidst some of the biggest bombings in Pakistan in recent month. Just before her arrival, a twin set of bombings killed over 150 people in Peshawar and other bombings killed as many people in towns across Pakistan.

When she arrived in Islamabad a huge crowed was gathering outside the airport holding demonstrations against the US presence-meddling in their country's affairs. Demonstrators, mainly young and educated Pakistanis held banners calling for the US secretary of State to go back to her country, immediately.

In an interview with journalists in Lahore, Clinton said she was puzzled over why some Al-Qaida members could have found a safe haven in Pakistan without being caught long ago. Surprisingly, she didn't bring up the issue of US drones dropping bombs on civilians, which many Pakistanis were interested to know about.

Clinton said 'The world has an interest in seeing the capture and killing of the people who are the mastermind of this terrorist syndicate and as far as we know, they are in Pakistan.' She continued, 'Al-Qaida has a safe haven in Pakistan since 2002 ... I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to.'

Apart from Ms. Clintons concerns, most Pakistanis and their government officials would want to put an end to this situation and therefore call for a speedy US withdrawal from their country. This is evident by seeing the demonstrators chanting out on the streets in Pakistan.

Masood Kazerani is a freelance journalist/ reporter specializing in current world affairs, travel and tourism. He writes for: http://www.hamsayeh.net