Pak media follows Obama`s India visit closely

US President Barack Obama`s visit to India dominated the front pages of Pakistani newspapers today, with the media focusing on his efforts to drum up business and create new jobs for the American economy.

Islamabad: US President Barack Obama`s visit
to India dominated the front pages of Pakistani newspapers
today, with the media focusing on his efforts to drum up
business and create new jobs for the American economy.

Pakistani TV news channels followed every move made by
Obama and his wife Michelle, providing live coverage of his
public speaking engagements, interactions with different
segments of society and even his arrivals in Mumbai and New
Delhi.

The headline on the front page of the influential Dawn
newspaper highlighted USD 10 billion trade deal between the
two countries which will generate 50,000 jobs in the US.

The dailies provided extensive coverage of various events
that Obama or his wife participated though there were no
editorials or articles analysing his comments.

Obama and his wife`s interactions with children in
Mumbai, and footage of Michelle dancing with children from
orphanages to the beat of a Bollywood tune, figured
prominently in the news bulletins of most TV channels.

The channels also extensively covered Obama`s function at
Mumbai`s St Xavier`s College, where he urged India and
Pakistan to work together to resolve their differences while
pushing Islamabad to do more to tackle extremism.

The channels noted that Obama had said India would
benefit more than any other country from better ties with
Pakistan.

"I am absolutely convinced that the country that has the
biggest stake in Pakistan is India. If Pakistan is stable and
prosperous, that`s best for India," Obama said.

Senior PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a noted
commentator on foreign policy issues, said that the basic
objectives of Obama`s visit to India were improving the US
economy, addressing New Delhi`s concerns that bilateral
relations were not as warm as they were under former President
George W Bush, and preparing India to act as a counter-balance
to China.

"This visit has had no adverse effect on Pakistan. In
fact, Obama has backed Pakistan`s position by calling on India
to resume the dialogue between the two countries. He also made
it clear that it was in India`s interest to have a strong,
successful and stable Pakistan," Sayed said.

He noted that Obama had also sent out a good message by
describing Islam as a religion of peace.

"The benefits of this visit will be for the US and Obama,
who is seeking to shore up the American economy. There are
superficial benefits for India as there are no firm outcomes,"
Sayed said, noting that Obama had given no indications about
India`s role in Afghanistan or its desire to become a
permanent member of the UN Security Council.

PTI

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