Role for India in war against terrorism?

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 12. As the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell's trip to India nears, there is the perception that the Pentagon wishes New Delhi to play a role in the American-led coalition attacks against the Al-Qaeda terror network. As of now, the impression is that Indo-U.S. interactions have been on the intelligence sharing levels vis-a-vis Afghanistan. And Defence Department officials have not elaborated on what a ``role'' for India could entail.

At a time when the political leadership in India has been maintaining that no blank cheque was given to the U.S. in the present war efforts against Afghanistan, Gen. Powell's deputy, Mr. Richard Armitage, sees it differently. India had shown ``fantastic'' support; came forward first and said, `Anything the United States needs, you've got,'`` the Deputy Secretary of State, who was briefing newspersons on Gen. Powell's visit, said.

The Secretary of State is travelling to the sub continent under the vastly changed circumstances of the last four weeks. From being nearly written off as a failed state and having come very close to being put in the books as a state sponsor of terror, Pakistan finds itself in totally different situation. Islamabad is now in the frontline of the fight against terrorism, something that has naturally riled India, given what is taking place in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gen. Powell will be reassuring New Delhi of the long term aspects of Indo-U.S. relations.

At the same time he will be careful in not wanting to be drawn into a discussion of Pakistan's credentials on even being a party to the ongoing war against terrorism. Sources believe that Gen. Powell will say or do nothing that would put the regime of Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a tighter spot than it is in now.

India has made its point on more than one occasion on Pakistan's role in fomenting terrorism and violence in Jammu and Kashmir. The U.S. is very aware of what is taking place on the ground.

It does not require qualifications of a rocket scientist to figure out what is happening by way of terrorism in the Indian subcontinent.

At the same it takes some political savvy to realise that constantly harping on Pakistan's nexus with terrorists does not serve New Delhi's political interests here.

The larger environment would have to be taken into account: this is America's war on terrorism and Pakistan has signed on to it and is the frontline state in the efforts against Afghanistan.

And no one in the political establishment is in any mood to antagonise Islamabad.

But this does not mean that Washington will not have anything to say at all to Pakistan.

In fact it is felt that it was because of pressure from the Bush administration that Pakistan has started cracking down on domestic extremism; and that a non-extremist Pakistan is in India's interest.

But if New Delhi feels that Washington at this juncture will publicly pressure Mr. Musharraf to rein in the terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, that is very unlikely to take place.

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