LAHORE: As all roads lead to the picturesque Islamabad, Pakistan flexes its geopolitical muscles to broker a ceasefire in the middle of a ferocious war in the Middle East.
The 50th US Vice President, David Vance, is expected to arrive in the federal capital on Saturday (today) along with negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to cool down the fire.
Vance would be the fifth US Vice President after Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden to tour Pakistan in 70 years.
But the first high-profile American who roamed freely in the streets of Lahore without fear, protocol or security was a Hollywood icon, Ava Lavinia Gardner, who was shooting for a film “Bhowani Junction” in 1954-55 after the Indian government had refused to permit filming.
Along with British actor, Stewart Granger, and colleagues like Bill Travers, Francis Mathews and Lionel Jeffries, Ava was in local newspapers daily. Hundreds of Lahorites were also given small roles and a new sound system was installed at the Lahore Railway Station.
This all happened before the then vice president Richard Nixon’s 1956 tour.
Among the US vice presidents who came to Pakistan, Nixon (later president) had met the then president Iskandar Mirza in Karachi on July 9, 1956.
Vice president Lyndon Johnson was in Karachi in 1961 to meet the then president Ayub Khan. He was touring Pakistan on behalf of president Kennedy as part of a goodwill mission.
During his visit, Johnson befriended a camel cart driver from Karachi after he saw him waving at his motorcade.
The camel cart driver, Bashir Sarban, was introduced to the visiting dignitary. Johnson shook hands and invited him over to US.
A few months later, as an official guest, Bashir Sarban flew to meet Johnson, the “Time” magazine reported. Bashir was seen beaming with joy at the New York Airport, where he was received by Johnson himself. Given a tour of the White House and Capitol Hill etc., Bashir also visited the Johnson Ranch in Texas, where he was hosted a sumptuous lunch.
Johnson’s hospitality did not end there. When Bashir landed back in Karachi, the American government had arranged for his Umrah visit. So, the United States sometimes does strange things to win hearts.
On January 12, 2011, the then vice president Joseph Biden had set his foot in Pakistan and had gone on to spend a busy day in Islamabad.
This unscheduled visit was to express his country’s concern over the then Punjab governor Salman Taseer’s murder and the public reaction in support of the killer, Mumtaz Qadri. The “CNN” reported: “During his trip, Vice President Biden met President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.”
Earlier, in February 2008, Biden was a member of the delegation that toured Pakistan to observe the elections held in February. He was then the Chairman of Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations.
Vice President, Dick Cheney, had made an unannounced visit to Pakistan on February 26, 2007 to meet General Musharraf.
Contrary to the Pakistani rulers who have visited the United States some five dozen times since 1947, only five American presidents have till date landed in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore during the last 79 years, which thus means that till date, it has taken around 16 years for a White House occupant to tour Pakistan.
The American presidents who have visited Pakistan include: Dwight Eisenhower (1959), Lyndon Johnson (December 23, 1967 for one-hour stopover), Richard Nixon (August 1–2, 1969), Bill Clinton (March 25, 2000) and George Bush (March 3–4, 2006).
Interestingly, all “pro-democracy” American Presidents were guests of Pakistani military rulers! Eisenhower was the first of the five American Presidents to visit Pakistan in 1959. His cavalcade was cheered by an ocean of onlookers in Karachi.
Also waving to the crowd was his host, General Ayub Khan. Eisenhower also witnessed the Pakistan-Australia cricket match.
In 1962, the American First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, was seen riding in an open-topped Limousine in Karachi, alongside the same Pakistani general in power. She was on an unofficial visit without her husband, President Kennedy. President Ayub had received two American Presidents and a First Lady during his rule.
President Nixon was in Lahore on August 1 and 2, 1969 to meet his Pakistani counterpart, Yahya Khan.
President Bill Clinton was in Pakistan on March 25, 2000 for a six-hour visit, when he had met President Rafiq Tarar and Army chief, General Musharraf.
George Bush Junior also met General Musharraf during his March 3–4, 2006 tour, besides playing cricket with Pakistani cricketers, Inzimamul Haq and Salman Butt. Other high-profile American officials who have visited Pakistan include Secretaries of State like Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Mike Pompeo, while Richard Armitage (the-then US Deputy Secretary of State) and diplomat Richard Holbrooke were also here for official business.
Meanwhile, several high-ranking American military officials also visited Pakistan during these last 15 years.
These include: General Michael Erik Kurilla (CENTCOM Commander), Lieutenant General Michael Garrett (Army Central Command), Admiral Mike Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), General Dan Caine (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Lieutenant General Michael Garrett (US Army Central Command) etc.
Legendary American boxer, Muhammed Ali, actress Angelina Jolie and another Hollywood actor, Robert De Niro, have also landed on Pakistani soil over the years.
