The Hindu : U.S. envoy meets Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 15, 2002

International

International

U.S. envoy meets Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD MAY 14. On the eve of the visit of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, called on the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, on Monday and exchanged views on a wide range of issues.

Ms. Chamberlin has just returned from Washington after consultations with the State Department. She called on the Pakistan President amidst reports of serious differences between Washington and Islamabad on the strategy to tackle the possible infiltration of Al-Qaeda and Taliban activists from Afghanistan.

Most important, the ambassador is leaving her job this month-end. There has been a great deal of speculation in diplomatic circles on the decision of Ms. Chamberlin to return to Washington though she has just completed nine months in the job here.

Ms. Chamberlin has said that she has been forced to leave, as she could no longer afford to stay away from her two teenage daughters. After the March 17 church grenade explosion, Washington had ordered all `non-essential diplomatic staff' and dependants to leave Pakistan.

The official explanation on the meeting between Gen. Musharraf and Ms. Chamberlin was that the discussion focused on bilateral relations and progress of Pakistan-U.S. cooperation. The regional situation and continuing tension and the presence of troops on the Indo-Pakistan border was discussed.

The Pakistan official news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), said that they also reviewed the continuing bilateral cooperation for counter-terrorism. And diplomatic circles here believe that there is growing pressure from Washington on Islamabad to get tough with the extremist elements, domestic and those sneaking in from Afghanistan.

Notwithstanding the emphatic denials from the Pakistan Foreign Office there are enough reasons to believe that the Bush administration wants the Musharraf Government to move faster in tackling the potential threat from the infiltrators from Afghanistan. It appears that the U.S. wants the military Government to step up vigil and undertake intense search operations in the sensitive tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. The tribal areas, where the writ of the Government does not run, are considered to be the safest havens for infiltrators from Afghanistan.

The Musharraf Government is faced with a dilemma in tackling the pressure, given the sensitivities of the people in the tribal belt.

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