Terrorism may have cost Pak. Clinton visit

By Amit Baruah

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 2. Pakistan's inability to address American concerns on terrorism, and to a lesser extent, a route map to democracy, may have cost Islamabad a full-fledged visit to the country by the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, during his tour of India and Bangladesh.

Though a ``stopover'' is not ruled out, the lack of even cosmetic action against ``jehadi outfits'' in Pakistan has placed even those U.S. officials, who argued in favour of a Clinton visit, in a tight spot.

Apart from the hijacking of the Indian Airlines aircraft by persons affiliated to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the U.S. has also come to believe that the November 12, 1999, serial rocket attacks against American installations in Islamabad, was the handiwork of the Harkat.

Though no one was killed in the rocket attacks, it is a known fact that the Harkat had vowed revenge for the August 1998 American cruise missile attack in which at least five activists of the terrorist group were killed.

The U.S. believes that its citizens living in Pakistan are not safe from these groups. It is this fear that prompted the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Karl Inderfurth, to call upon the Pakistani Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to crack down on jehadi outfits.

It is also known that Gen. Musharraf had informed Mr. Inderfurth that he was not in a position to take action against these jehadi groups and that in the weeks and month to come this situation could change.

This inability to address American concerns has led to the announcement of dates for the U.S. President to visit India and Bangladesh, but not Pakistan. An elaborate process of explanation has also begun in the Pakistani press for this decision.

A Washington-datelined report in The Nation newspaper on Tuesday, which is clearly inspired by Pakistani diplomats in the U.S., claimed that while Mr. Clinton was keen to visit Pakistan, ``an influential section of the (U.S.) State Department and the National Security Council prompted by India Caucus members in the U.S. Congress, are exerting pressure on him to skip over Pakistan. The U.S. media, too, is engaged in a highly biased campaign, apparently based on briefings by members of this section.''

There is a clear diplomatic projection that if Mr. Clinton did not visit Pakistan, Gen. Musharraf's ``secular, liberal'' hands would be weakened which, in turn, would strengthen extremist forces in the country.

If the Musharraf regime announces and is seen taking some action on the terrorism issue, then a stopover by Mr. Clinton could, perhaps, still be arranged. But Pakistan must offer ``something'' to the U.S. to make that possible.

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Section  : International
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