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What Kamal said on CNN...

Daily Times Monitor

KARACHI: CNN’s Zain Verjee interviewed City Nazim Mustafa Kamal on May 2 during his visit to Washington. Their chat appeared on the CNN NEWSROOM show at 3:00 PM EST. Daily Times reproduces the transcript below:

Well, the friendship with Pakistan isn’t exactly what it was. A power shift and Pakistan’s new relationship with extremists is testing that bond. So the State Department is working to build bridges with Pakistan’s future.

CNN’s Zain Verjee tagged along with a young Pakistani leader getting the VIP treatment in Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor, how are you?

Good to see you.

MAYOR SYED MUSTAFA KAMAL, KARACHI, PAKISTAN: (INAUDIBLE). How are you?

Good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s great to see you again.

KAMAL: Thank you so much.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Syed Kamal is getting star treatment at the State Department. The mayor of Karachi is a guest with a mission.

(on-camera): What’s the experience been like for you here on the State Department program?

KAMAL: Well, it’s been quite overwhelming, I mean, the kind of response I’m getting.

VERJEE (voice-over): The State Department brings in thousands of people each year from all over the world to promote understanding. Kamal’s got a packed schedule that keeps him and his escorts on the run.

KAMAL: It’s good to see people and meet people.

VERJEE: A visit to Capitol Hill...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had snow this weekend in Minnesota.

KAMAL: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that’s what it looked like back home.

VERJEE: The New York Stock Exchange, Houston, then Chicago.

KAMAL: I’m really glad that I’ve got this chance to explain my city.

VERJEE: His sprawling port city, one of the world’s largest — 16 million people — can be scary. It’s where Al Qaeda leaders have been captured, where terrorists tried to assassinate Benazir Bhutto and where journalist Daniel Pearl was killed.

The mayor has got a tough job to remake the image.

KAMAL: That’s what I’m here for.

VERJEE: The U.S. says al Qaeda has a free run of Pakistan’s tribal areas, free to plot terror attacks against the U.S.

(on-camera): Is this new government going to be as committed to fighting terrorism as Musharraf says he was?

KAMAL: Well, the way they have been committing to the war, I think they are serious, but only time will tell.

VERJEE (voice-over): The U.S. hopes that cultivating a young Pakistani politician now will help the relationship bloom later.

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