U.S. reiterates commitment to be engaged with Pak.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 3. The United States intends to stay engaged with Pakistan despite the current difficulties it is facing, according to the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Mr. Karl F. Inderfurth. Speaking at the Howard University in Washington D.C., the senior Clinton administration official remarked that the United States supported a vision of Pakistan - as presented by its new Foreign Minister - that was a progressive, modern, democratic, Islamic state.

``This is a vision we can support and Pakistan's potential as an example of progressive Islamic democracy is one reason for its importance to us today. But there are other reasons as well,'' he said.

``Pakistan is important because it is a link - both economic and political - between the Indian Ocean and Central Asia, because it has significant human and economic resources and because it has historically been a friend of the U.S. For all these reasons we intend to stay engaged with Pakistan despite the current difficulties it is facing,'' Mr. Inderfurth observed.

The U.S. has an expanding agenda in South Asia, the Mr. Inderfurth noted, going on to list at least four key items - democracy, economic reform, social development and integration into the global mainstream. On Pakistan and democracy the Clinton administration official hoped that the setback to South Asia by way of the October 12, 1999 military coup would be temporary.

``Our goal, which Gen. Musharraf says he shares, is to see Pakistan put back on the democratic path in the shortest possible timeframe. To the extent that we see evidence that this process is in motion, it will be in our own interest to see how we can most appropriately and effectively encourage it,'' Mr. Inderfurth remarked.

He made the point that in all of the four promising areas listed above ``the full potential of our growing engagement with South Asia can be realised only if that region addresses some of the tough issues... including proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and regional and social conflict.''

This said, Mr. Inderfurth hoped that the time would come soon when these issues no longer dominated American thinking about South Asia and instead become deeply engaged in an agenda of economic growth, science and technology cooperation, cultural and educational exchange and joint efforts to combat infectious diseases.

The fact that a senior Clinton administration official has once again noted that Washington is committed to remaining ``engaged'' with Pakistan should not come as much of a big surprise. This is what the administration has been saying for a very long time, especially since the military coup of last October. In fact, it was Mr. Inderfurth who first commented at the time that the U.S. cannot ``walk away'' from what was taking place in Pakistan.

In the announcement of the President, Mr. Bill Clinton's visit to South Asia - India and Bangladesh - there is hardly anything to indicate at this time that Pakistan is formally off the list. On the contrary, there is everything to suggest that the administration here, for a number of reasons domestic and international, is trying to create an environment that would facilitate Mr. Clinton at least dropping by Islamabad.

India hailed

PTI reports:

Mr. Inderfurth described India, as ``an emerging economic power house and world power, a dynamic nation forged from amazing diversity, and a successful democracy with over a billion people.''

India, he said, is not only the world's largest democracy but a very intense, dynamic and, in almost every respect, a successful one. ``This should make the U.S. and India, as the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, noted a year ago, `natural allies'; and indeed it is quite unnatural that our two countries have for too long seemed at odds on many issues... In large part that was an unfortunate legacy of the Cold War.''

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