The Hindu : `We take Musharraf at his word'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 09, 2002

International

International

`We take Musharraf at his word'
By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MARCH 8. Even while publicly lavishing praise on the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, for his stance on Afghanistan, the Bush administration has told him that cross- border terrorism with India will have to stop if anything politically meaningful is going to take place between the two countries, a senior administration official said.

The official, who spoke to a small group of journalists from India and Pakistan said that the U.S. President, George W. Bush, and other senior officials had told Gen. Musharraf that Pakistan would have to make a ``strategic change and not a tactical change''.

What is being stressed is that even Gen. Musharraf agreed with this characterisation on cross-border terrorism; and that Washington would be watching the situation. ``We take him at his (Gen. Musharraf's) word...If he plays games, there will be a problem,'' the senior official said.

The Bush administration is not claiming that its advice is being followed by Islamabad on the cross-border terrorism issue, but there is an argument that the activity and infiltration is down. ``Every winter, there is a decline in the cross-border infiltration, but now there is a noticeable decline. Is it down to zero? No,'' the senior official said.

Once again it was made clear that the Bush administration was not interested in playing the role of a ``mediator'' between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. It is going to be a long process, with Washington sitting on the sidelines and watching.

Economically, there is the dividend from peace and stability in the sub-continent for over the next 20 years trade within the region was going to fuel growth.

On Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Bush administration, at least publicly, continues to maintain that Gen. Musharraf is in control of the agency. Also according to the official, ``We don't believe there is a renegade element within the ISI''.

While stopping cross-border terrorism could have an impact on the resumption of a political dialogue between Indian and Pakistan, the Bush administration is also paying careful attention to India's role as well in this process.

Washington is watching the coming elections in Jammu and Kashmir with the hope that all parties, including the Hurriyat, will participate. The official also made the point that the Indian Government should allow the Hurriyat leaders to travel freely.

On what was agreed upon on the military supplies front during Gen. Musharraf's recent trip here, it was pointed out that Mr. Bush had said `no' to the sale of F-16 jets; and if there is the complaint in Pakistan that even spare parts are slow in materialising, it was on account of the procurement system and process and with the spares coming out of the foreign military financing, it would have to be accommodated in the 2003 budget.

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