U.S. official discusses Afghanistan with Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 16. The United States Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Alan Eastham, who arrived here on a two-day official visit, called on the Pakistan Interior Minister, Lt. Gen. (retd) Moinuddin Haider, and exchanged views on a host of issues, including Afghanistan. Much importance is being attached to the visit - the first official one by a senior functionary of the U.S. State Department to Islamabad after the Bush administration took charge in the third week of January. An official statement said here that Mr. Eastham briefed the Minister on the ``policies'' of the new U.S. administration towards Pakistan and spoke about Pakistan's importance in the region.

Mr. Eastham is scheduled to fly to New Delhi after his interaction with senior leaders and officials here. The chances of his meeting the military ruler and the Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, are also not being ruled out.

There is some ambiguity about the approach of the Bush administration towards Pakistan as the new Government has not yet appointed the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of South Asia. Mr. Eastham, a career diplomat, has been looking after the South Asia region after the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Karl Inderfurth, vacated the post. The U.S. President is expected to announce a replacement for Mr. Inderfurth soon.

Nuclear proliferation, democracy, growth of fundamentalist and militant outfits and Afghanistan were the main issues that dominated the agenda of the Clinton administration vis-a-vis Pakistan. The general perception in Pakistan that the Bush administration would not give the same degree of importance to issues such as return to democracy and the signing of CTBT as its predecessor. It is in this context that the discussions of Mr. Eastham with the authorities in Pakistan assume added importance.

In another development, the five-member U.N. team of experts led by ambassador, Mr. Haile Menkorios, established as a consequence of the U.N. sanctions on Afghanistan, called on senior officials at the Pakistani Foreign Office and exchanged notes on the implementation of the sanctions. The team met the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Mr. Inamul Haq, and earlier had a working session with Additional Secretaries responsible for U.N. affairs and Afghanistan. The team is expected to make recommendations on the implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution.

The Pakistani officials gave details of the steps taken by the military Government for implementation of the Security Council resolutions. The team is expected to have a meeting at the Interior Ministry and travel to Peshawar and the Torkham border.

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