Opportunity to refashion Indo-Pak. thinking: Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 20. The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, has said that last week's tragedy had provided an ``interesting opportunity'' to Washington as far as the foreign policy in West Asia and South Asia were concerned.

``One of the opportunities is in the Middle East. And I am pleased with the fact that Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Sharon have taken positive steps towards bringing peace in the region. I think we have an opportunity to refashion the thinking between Pakistan and India. I think there's some interesting opportunity to shake terrorism loose from sponsor states,'' Mr. Bush said on Wednesday, at a photo opportunity with the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had taken a ``bold position'' by agreeing to help the U.S. in its anti-terrorism efforts.

``There is no question that President Musharraf has taken a bold position... And we appreciate so very much his statement of support. I said we'll give the President a chance to perform and I believe he has done so. We will work closely with Pakistan and India to make sure that that part of the world is as stable as it can possibly be,'' Mr. Bush said.

In the current scheme of things, Pakistan is being seen here as one of the key players in the American strategy of countering terrorism around the world.

And much of the focus on Pakistan has to do with its geographical proximity to Afghanistan. Islamabad's influence on the Taliban is also a critical factor.

Meanwhile, the stock market has been taking a beating for the last two days; and major airlines have announced plans to lay off thousands of workers and are threatening to file for bankruptcies soon if the Federal Government does not come to their rescue.

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