Sir, - Elaine Lafferty's article "US forced to embrace a strange ally indeed" (The Irish Times, October 6th)was negative and replete with baseless criticism of Pakistan.
To give a clearer perspective, this is not the first time an alliance has been forged between Pakistan, the US and the West. Pakistan and the US are traditional allies since the early 1950s and have a relationship of long standing, despite its ups and downs. Further, feelings among some sections of the population - "the majority" - towards th US and Britain, described by Ms Lafferty as ranging from "moderate distrust to outright hatred", are not peculiar to Pakistan alone.
Ms Lafferty made some exaggerated generalisations regarding the law and order situation in Pakistan. She failed to distinguish between the effective law system prevalent in Pakistan and the one in its remote tribal areas in the North-West Frontier and Baluchistan provinces, which have their own form of judicial system based on local traditions of rough and ready justice.
Pakistan is a developing country which, like all such countries, has its share of poverty and illiteracy. The Government of Pakistan is making strenuous efforts to overcome this through poverty alleviation and social development programmes with assistance from international financial institutions. It has a strong industrial base and manufacturing capacity, which are being expanded. Pakistan's "true national industry" is not "smuggling", as proclaimed by Ms. Lafferty.
As regards the "hawala" system, which is illegal in Pakistan, the Government has made concerted efforts to persuade people to transfer money through legal banking channels by introducing several incentives.
Life in Pakistan is not "pain from head to toe" and despite the drawbacks and disadvantages of any developing country, Pakistan has a rich culture and tradition, and the Government is continuously making efforts to improve the life of the common man through political and economic development plans.
It would have been better if the article had been based on a better understanding of modern-day Pakistan rather than on superficial impressions which are misleading and present a distorted picture of a moderate, liberal, progressive Islamic state. - Yours, etc.,
Shaukat Ali Mukadam, Counsellor, Embassy of Pakistan, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.