A moment of hope: Sattar

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JUNE 20. The United States and Pakistan discussed a range of issues on Tuesday as the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, had his meeting with the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, which was followed by a working lunch. ``... we had a very, very good and fruitful discussion of all the issues on our mutual agendas,'' Gen. Powell said at the end of the meeting at Foggy Bottom.

It was quite obvious that the coming meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan was one of the major topics of the discussions. At the State Department stakeout, the Secretary of State was pointedly asked if India should trust the Pakistani Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, after Kargil.

``I think anytime the leaders of two great countries such as India and Pakistan get together to discuss issues that are of enormous complication, it's got to be a good thing; and so I hope these conversations will produce results that will benefit both nations and the people of the region,'' Gen. Powell said.

Mr. Sattar, in response to the question of ``trust'', said this was a moment of hope in the relations between the two countries and that Gen. Musharraf ``has exercised utmost restraint to ensure that the atmosphere is not in any way adversely affected by statements with regard to our positions on the Kashmir question... I am sure our leader... will try to identify a direction that will lead to a solution acceptable to the Kashmiri people''.

Mr. Sattar said that when the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, and Gen. Musharraf meet they would address the Kashmir issue in a constructive fashion and identify ``salutatory directions'' that would lead to a settlement which would be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. To which Gen. Powell responded, ``I parallel what the Minister just said. We did discuss it in the vein that he just described''.

Gen. Powell and Mr. Sattar touched on other issues that have a vital bearing for South Asia and bilateral relations that included China, Afghanistan and the Taliban. ``There was no issue that we did not discuss in a spirit of openness and candour, reflecting the great respect we have for Pakistan and the friendship that has always existed for many, many years between the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States,'' Gen. Powell said.

Sanctions against Pakistan were also discussed. While the Secretary of State was more general in his observations saying the discussions were over and now one should think of how to go about the ``process of eventually lifting sanctions'', the State Department spokesman, Mr. Richard Boucher, later said that as U.S. sanctions against India and Pakistan were based on merits, they may be lifted at different times.

The consensus on sanctions against India is that they would have to be lifted within the next few months. But administration officials are not sure on how to go about it as far as Pakistan is concerned, both in terms of time-frame and scope. Islamabad is in a different situation, for the administration here would have to come to grips with multiple layers of punitive measures.

Further, some in the official community here are not sure that Pakistan should be ``rewarded'' by any lifting of sanctions. It is argued that the country is still under military rule; continues to deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan; it is one of suspects in the proliferation game; and has a dubious track record on terrorism.

``Some of the sanctions are the same (meaning for India and Pakistan). Some are different. So we take each of these on its merits. We look at the progress and how things are in the individual relationship and decide what we can do in those terms,'' Mr. Boucher said.

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