Tuesday, Oct 07, 2003
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
At a press conference here along with the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, after a meeting with Gen. Musharraf, the U.S. envoy said that his talks with Gen. Musharraf covered the whole gamut of Pak.-U.S. relations and not confined to cooperation on terrorism alone. Mr. Armitage and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, are on a tour of Afghanistan and Pakistan for a first-hand assessment of the fight against the remnants of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The United States is concerned over reports of re-grouping of the fugitives and attacks on its forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In Kabul, on Sunday Mr. Armitage appreciated the recent operations by Pakistan in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to flush out Al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects. Pakistan claimed to have killed eight suspects and captured 12 foreign nationals from the belt, while two of its soldiers were killed. Three days ago, Islamabad, for the first time, claimed to have dismantled an abandoned terrorist training camp in the northern areas near the Indian and Chinese border. Believed to have been deserted by the proscribed Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the operation was seen as an effort by Pakistan to project that it was doing all it could to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure. It was during the last visit of Mr. Armitage that Gen. Musharraf had informed the U.S. envoy that there was no infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) and there were no terrorism camps. For good measure Gen. Musharraf added ``if there were any, they would be gone by tomorrow''. Mr. Armitage appeared a little embarrassed when a reporter referred to his reported statement in Washington last week that while Gen. Musharraf was fully committed to fighting terrorism, some of the forces within the Pakistani military did not share his enthusiasm. ``I said there was some question of some individuals in the security services who might not have the same affection, that is the same energy and the same regard, for these efforts as President Musharraf,'' the Deputy Secretary of State said. He asserted that Gen. Musharraf had 200 per cent support from his security forces. Mr. Armitage said he had in-depth discussions with Gen. Musharraf on a whole strategic relationship... not simply one based on the global war on terror. He said that the United States desired a wholesome relationship with Pakistan. This had been the theme of the Bush Administration since Pakistan agreed to be an ally in the war against the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda after the attack on the U.S. on September 11. Separately, Mr. Armitage and Ms. Rocca met Pakistan's Defence Secretary, Hamid Nawaz. They discussed Pakistan-U.S. relations, South Asia and the current situation in Afghanistan. In a related development, the Commander, the U.S. Central Command, John Abizaid, called on Gen. Musharraf in Rawalpindi and discussed security, defence cooperation and other regional and international issues with the latter. Gen. Abizaid, who had taken charge from Tommy Franks, is on his first visit to Pakistan.
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