Pakistan Views

The visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Right and Labour, David J Kramer, on Tuesday said that Washington was closely working with Islamabad for making its economic reforms’ process a success to help it fight out poverty and lawlessness. Addressing a press conference here, he said that the US would not meddle in Pakistan’s domestic issue and it were the people of Pakistan who could decide issues like President Musharraf’s impeachment, probe into Benazir’s assassination case by United Nations, and restoration of deposed judges. He said that US accords high priority to its relationship with Pakistan and wants to offer it every possible help for strengthening its all organs of the state including judiciary and press.Kramer said that he had met with a few federal ministers, parliamentarians, lawyers’ representatives and human rights activists during his stay in Islamabad and gave them assurance on behalf of the US government that Washington would continue to support Pakistan to take forward its political and democratic process.He said the US administration would like to see judiciary, press and other institutions working independently to play vibrant role in making a safe and sound Pakistan. He added that the US would continue to work with the new government to strengthen its working relationship to improve bilateral ties in all important areas.He added that it was his first visit to Pakistan after assuming charge of the Assistant Secretary of State and he found its people enthusiastic and hardworking with a clear vision to make this country a vibrant state. He said that Pakistan’s political leadership was also showing great degree of seriousness and wisdom to resolve the problems confronted with Pakistan on domestic and international fronts.He agreed with a questioner that the US was facing a perception problem in Pakistan and the US policy makers believe that its policy of talking to the people would work to dispel this impression.On the issue of missing persons in Pakistan, he said the US strongly advocates protection of human rights by all countries and it strictly adheres to the same policy for Islamabad.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said US and Pakistan have deepening ties and visit by it diplomats to the major anti-terror ally for talks with the new government signifies Washington’s respect for the democratic process and its outcome in the country.
Rice said timing of the visit by Deputy Secretary John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher - planned some time ago - “turned out to be pretty coincidental.”In an interview with editorial board of The Washington Times, she said US is interested in talking to the new government on the way forward in the fight against violent extremism.The top American diplomat, at the same time, acknowledged the complexity of the problem in the federally administered tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.”Fata is also a very special problem. It’s a special problem because it has not been governed really ever, the tribal ties are very deep and they are cross-border ties.”Rice referred to the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto and stated it’s the assessment of most that the forces that martyred her are associated with terrorists who operate in that area.She noted that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorist attacks and underlined the menace has to be addressed.”And it can’t be tolerated by the Pakistanis, who are bearing the brunt of the extremists attacking, whether it is the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto or the actions that they’ve taken against the armed forces or the innocent civilians who have died in those attacks.”

The United States has escalated air strikes against al Qaeda fighters operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas fearing that support from Islamabad may slip away, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.US officials, who were not identified, said Washington wants to inflict as much damage as it can to al Qaeda’s network now because President Pervez Musharraf may not be able to offer much help in the months ahead.
Over the past two months, US-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least three sites used by al Qaeda operatives, the Post reported.About 45 Arab, Afghan and other foreign fighters have been killed in the attacks, all near the Afghan border, US and Pakistani officials were cited as saying.Neither US nor Pakistani authorities officially confirm US missile attacks on Pakistani territory, which would be an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty. Many al Qaeda members, including Uzbeks and Arabs, and Taliban militants took refuge in North and South Waziristan, as well as in other areas on the Pakistani side of the border after US-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.
According to the Post, the goal was partly to try to get information on senior al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, by forcing them to move in ways that US intelligence analysts can detect.Citing an administration official, the report said the campaign was not specifically designed to capture bin Laden before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January.It’s not a blitz to close this chapter, a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper. If we find the leadership, then we’ll go after it. But nothing can be done to put al Qaeda away in the next nine or 10 months. In the long haul, it’s an issue that extends beyond this administration.

President George Bush has sanctioned millions of dollars as aid to Pakistan to continue its fight against terrorism, as Pakistan’s new prime minister takes over in Islamabad.
President George Bush asked the U-S Congress to release 300 million dollars for security assistance to its key “war on terror” ally Pakistan to boosts its counter-terrorism operations. However, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe revealed that the Bush administration still had concerns about the human rights situation in Pakistan.stressing U-S concerns about fundamental civil and political rights in Pakistan, especially after last November’s state of emergency and the suspension of the constitution.

The United States on Wednesday welcomed the election of a woman parliamentarian to the office of speaker in Pakistan’s National Assembly as the parliamentary process in Islamabad moved forward to elect new leadership.
The State Department, commenting on election of speaker and deputy speaker in the lower chamber of the parliament emerging from February 18 polls, also said the US looks forward to working with the Pakistani leaders on issues of common interest.
The election of a woman parliamentarian, Dr Fehmida Mirza, to the office of speaker reflects vibrancy and openness in the Pakistani society, a State Department spokesman said. Her election also signifies that women in Pakistan can play an important role in democratic development as well as resolution of other issues being faced by the country, the spokesman added.

The United States on Monday has said it desires a government in Pakistan that is going to be an effective anti-terror ally and also steer the country toward development but stressed that formation of a coalition is for Pakistanis to decide.
“Ultimately, what we want to see happen is the formation of a government that’s going to be an effective partner for the United States, not only in confronting extremism but also in helping Pakistan achieve the broad-based goals for that country’s political and economic development,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
Responding to a question at the daily briefing, Casey said “in terms of the specifics of how that’s done, of who winds up in a coalition, who winds up in which ministry, what happens in terms of judicial reform or in terms of judicial appointments, those are really matters for the Pakistanis themselves and for the new government to decide.”
Continuing, he stated, “what we want to see is a government that’s working effectively to be able to meet the challenges that are there, but we’re not trying to offer specific advice to them on how to deal with some of these internal questions.”

The United States should cut off military aid to Pakistan if upcoming parliamentary elections are not free, fair and transparent, a senior senator in a Congressional team travelling to monitor the polls said on Friday.
Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, who is head of the influential Senate foreign relations committee, also forecast riots throughout Pakistan if Monday’s elections were found to be “patently rigged.”
He noted that Washington’s “only real leverage” against the administration of President Musharraf was military aid.
Asked what would be the consequences of unfair elections, he said, “I would move to cut off aid to Pakistan, military aid.”
He specifically cited the sale of F-16 fighter jets and P3 long-range maritime surveillance aircraft.
Since 2001 the United States has given 10 billion dollars in aid to Pakistan, most of it in military assistance to combat al Qaeda and Taliban militants.
The United States is facing a dilemma amid persistent reports that the elections would be rigged.
The State Department itself acknowledged that there would be “some” fraud in the election.
Any escalating violence following Monday’s polls may trigger a confrontation between Musharraf or the powerful military and moderate democratic forces that could force Washington to make a difficult choice on who to back, experts say.
“If these elections are patently rigged, unfair, I think you are going to see rioting on the streets throughout the country and I really don’t think Pakistan military chief General Ashfaq Kayani or the military is all anxious to fire upon the population in this country,” Biden said.
“I think there is considerable pressure — at least I hope he is listening — on Musharraf to at least have an election that the majority of the people in Pakistan think give them their voice,” he said.
The State Department said Friday that the US embassy in Islamabad would send observers to various locations throughout Pakistan to monitor the elections.
“The Pakistani people should have a reasonable degree of assurance that their ballot will, in fact, be reflected in the results and that the overall will of the Pakistani people is reflected in these results,” department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday she was concerned about election violence in Pakistan and hoped a new government would include ‘moderate voices.’
Rice told US lawmakers she believed Pakistan’s leaders understood there needed to be an election that inspired confidence, but she was concerned over violence ahead of Monday’s poll. “It is not going to easy. We all are concerned about the potential for violence. We are all concerned, of course, about the potential that at least there will be pockets where there may be problems with the elections,” Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“But I think we have to keep pressing and encouraging and insisting that this is an election on which a lot is holding. They have got to inspire confidence that people got to vote freely,” she said. The United States and others are increasingly uneasy at the prospect of instability in a nuclear-armed Muslim state, that is fighting militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda. “Once the elections are over, the key is going to be to bring about a government that can again inspire, that there are a wide range of moderate voices that have been integrated into it,” said Rice, without expanding further.
Rice has made clear the Bush administration has no plans to cut back on aid, pointing to the importance of Pakistan in fighting terrorism. Washington has given Pakistan about $10 billion in aid since 2001.

Pakistan must learn how to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban after years of preparing for a more traditional contest with India, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said on Wednesday, reiterating a US offer to help.
The US defense secretary said Pakistan realized only in recent months that al Qaeda posed a threat to the government of President Pervez Musharraf. He said the martyrdom of former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in December underscored that threat.
“All of a sudden what had been a nuisance is becoming a threat to the existence of the government,” Gates said.
“The Pakistani army is an army that essentially has been trained and equipped to potentially fight India. They are now going to have to reorient themselves and figure out how to do counterinsurgency,” he said.
The US military is growing more concerned about security in nuclear-armed Pakistan and wants to play a bigger role in the state’s counterterrorism fight.
Washington already gives millions of dollars annually to Pakistan for security-related assistance — funds that have totalled $10 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But in the face of growing instability, a suicide bomb campaign and the regrouping of al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas, the Pentagon has offered to step up its training of Pakistani forces as part of a new $750 million program.
Michael Vickers, assistant defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said sites are being chosen for a five-year program to train and equip the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary unit, to confront al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region.
The Pentagon also has offered to send US troops into Pakistan for joint operations with the Pakistani military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or Fata, where al Qaeda has regenerated over the past 18 months.
But Pakistani leaders have publicly rejected the idea of US forces operating inside Pakistan, fearing it could trigger a backlash from fiercely independent Pashtun tribes living on the border with Afghanistan — a concern Gates said he understood.
Still, Vickers said assistance could go beyond training.
“Training assistance is very important, but could extend to some other areas as well,” he said.
US special forces could quietly help Pakistan with intelligence and reconnaissance, he said.
“We have a lot of capabilities that we can do in a low-visibility manner,” Vickers said.
A missile attack, apparently carried out by a US drone, killed a senior al Qaeda figure in the region last week, according to Pakistani and US officials.
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to travel to Pakistan soon to discuss the security situation.
Defense officials say there are fewer than 100 US troops now in Pakistan, most involved in US Embassy operations. About two dozen are involved in counterterrorism and counter-narcotics training.

There is no suggestion of foul play in the death of a US diplomat who was found shot at his home in Islamabad on Monday, the State Department said.

Spokesman Sean McCormack identified the diplomat as Keith Ryan, an attache from the Department of Homeland Security working on immigration and customs enforcement at the Islamabad embassy.

“It’s a sad, sad event,” McCormack told reporters, expressing condolences to Ryan’s family.

Investigations were continuing, he said, “but we have no indication at this point that it involves foul play.” No further details were available on Ryan, who Pakistani police said had apparently shot himself in the head.