New York, Aug 20 - President Barack Obama's efforts to convince Pakistanis that the US is their friend are not running smooth though America doles out billions of dollars for the country's infrastructure development, trade, energy, schools and jobs.

Judith A. McHale, the Obama administration's new under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, learnt how difficult the job is after she tasted the Pakistani anger during her meeting with Ansar Abbasi, a Pakistani journalist known for his harsh criticism of American foreign policy.

'She got that, and a little bit more,' a New York Times report said Thursday.

After McHale gave her initial polite presentation Monday about building bridges between America and the Muslim world, Abbasi thanked her politely for meeting him. But then he told her what he felt for her country.

' 'You should know that we hate all Americans',' McHale said Abbasi told her. ''From the bottom of our souls, we hate you',' she recalled Abbasi's statement.

Beyond the continuation of the battle against militants along the Pakistani-Afghan border, a big part of Obama's strategy for the region involves trying to broaden America's involvement in the country, to invest in non-military areas like infrastructure development, trade, energy, schools and jobs.

This all is aimed at convincing the Pakistani people that the US is their friend. But as McHale and other American officials discovered this week during a visit by Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, making that case was not going to be easy, said the Times report.