Obama's pledge

American presidential frontrunner Sen. Barrack Obama could not get it more right when he held the Bush government responsible for creating instability in Pakistan by supporting Musharraf, and pledged to strengthen the fledgling democracy by increasing non-military aid to Islamabad. There is no gainsaying the fact that the policy of the outgoing administration remained focused on reinforcing Pakistan’s security apparatus to effectively combat terrorism in its tribal areas. Mr Obama, whose lead over his Republican rival John McCain appears to be narrowing slightly in the final weekend of campaigning, promised to help Pakistan provide concrete solutions to poverty and lack of education. The issue figured prominently on the foreign policy agenda that he unfolded in his interview to CNN on Friday. The comment comes after he faced scathing criticism of his threats to send US troops crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan in hunt for top Al-Qaeda leaders ‘if the Pakistanis were unwilling or unable’ to track them down.