The Hindu : Musharraf committed to stopping cross-border incidents, says U.S.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

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Musharraf committed to stopping cross-border incidents, says U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington JUNE 25. The United States is of the view that the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, has committed to "a hundred per cent effort" in trying to stop "cross-border incidents"; and this was a subject addressed by the U.S. President, George W. Bush, in his meeting with Gen. Musharraf at Camp David on Tuesday.

"I think the President put it about as well as anybody can, which is what we expect and what we think Musharraf needs to commit to and we think he has committed to is a hundred per cent effort at trying to stop cross-border incidents. I'll leave it at that," a senior administration official said during a briefing on the meeting.

"... anybody who sees the developments in the Middle East appreciates that the worst thing you can do is give the rejectionists a veto over any movement toward peace. There will always be people with guns. There will always be people with bombs. The question is how do we isolate them and, over time, make them irrelevant... I'm talking about the Middle East right now, but it's obviously relevant to Pakistan and India too — as the two sides move towards peace and understanding."

The meeting at Camp David was basically an appreciation for Gen. Musharraf's assistance in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, especially in the context of rooting out the Taliban from Afghanistan and tracking down and nabbing wanted terrorists, including key Al-Qaeda figures.

A number of issues are said to have figured in the discussions, including the situation in the subc roughly split between security needs and developmental and economic imperatives.

But Washington has also said that this package, to be approved by Congress on an annual basis, is pegged to certain aspects that includes forward movement on democracy, cooperation on the terrorism front and non-proliferation.

The Bush administration has not openly taken on Pakistan for its links with North Korea on the nuclear and missiles area; but Washington is deeply concerned at what might have transpired and what else may be in the works.

According to the senior official, Gen. Musharraf said that he "totally understood" the administration's concerns.

"He said that he totally understood our views and that, don't worry Pakistan will not be doing anything that will cause concern — is not doing and will not be doing," the senior administration official said adding, "we trust his commitments".

The Republican administration is also saying that there is a "long, long way to go" for the U.S. to envision a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan; and that at Camp David there was a discussion of liberalising trade and set up a framework to look at trade issues.

"... In terms of a free trade area, we've got a long, long way to go and the Pakistanis understand that. We're perfectly willing to start moving down that road but that will require movement on both sides and, frankly, it will require increasing liberalisation with the Pakistani market," the official said.

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