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| Fight terror jointly, Musharraf tells US |
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Says proposed legislation discriminatory; Cheney asks Pakistan to do more; FO rejects dictation
Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday said under no circumstances would it accept dictation from any source even as the US asked it “to do more” in the war on terror.
Islamabad’s assertion came just as US Vice-President Dick Cheney came out of a meeting with Gen Pervez Musharraf here. The meeting took place against the backdrop of claims in the American newspapers that the Bush administration was ratcheting up pressure on Pakistan with a warning of a possible aid cut-off if Islamabad did not do more to confront the Taliban.
“Pakistan has a comprehensive approach where countering terrorism is concerned. We take military action where necessary and we also take political and economic actions as well as working on a development strategy (in the tribal areas). We are working in it (all three strategies),” the Foreign Office spokeswoman told a weekly press briefing.
Leading foreign wire services citing a Pakistani statement reported Cheney had communicated “serious US concerns” about intelligence concerning an impending Taliban spring offensive against western forces in Afghanistan. Musharraf told Cheney that Pakistan “has done the maximum in the fight against terrorism” and that “joint efforts were needed for achieving the desired objectives,” his office said.
Musharraf “expressed concern over the proposed discriminatory legislation” in Congress, the Pakistani statement said. “Cheney asked President Musharraf that Pakistan should do more,” a Pakistani official said after the meeting. “Cheney, however, appreciated Pakistan’s efforts and steps being taken to combat terrorism,” the official added.
Giving few details about the Musharraf-Cheney meeting the Foreign Office spokeswoman said Cheney’s was not a surprise visit but one that had not been announced. However, she said at that point of time full details about the meeting were not available.
When asked if Cheney had pushed Musharraf for more military action to suit the needs of the Americans, she replied, “No. Vice-President Dick Cheney was on his way to Afghanistan and he stopped by to meet President Musharraf. The discussions focussed on bilateral relations, Afghanistan and counter terrorism.”
With the Iran-US dispute being discussed in Islamabad on Sunday, and the arising situation hitting headlines daily, the spokesperson said to a query that this particular dispute did not figure in the Musharraf-Cheney talks.
Responding to a query about the new US legislation, which would require certification from a US president for Pakistan, the spokesperson replied, “We do not agree to any conditionality and at present there are three versions of this US legislation and nothing so far has been finalised.”
The spokesperson said that it was not Pakistan that was talking about a spring offensive by the Taliban. “This information is coming from Nato and the US who are talking about it. They have also expressed concern about the Taliban regrouping. The Taliban too are claiming that they will launch a spring offensive,” she said.
Cheney also communicated “serious US concerns” about intelligence concerning an impending Taliban spring offensive against western forces in Afghanistan, a government statement said. Cheney, whose visit had been kept secret until the last moment for security reasons, was accompanied by CIA deputy director Steve Kappes. His plane landed at a military base outside Islamabad before he was taken on a helicopter to the presidential palace. A US Black Hawk helicopter circled low over the presidency throughout the morning, with the side door open and gunners leaning out
When asked about Sunday’s meeting of seven foreign ministers from the Muslim world, the spokeswoman said Pakistan will not work at the behest of any country against any other country. “The group wanted to meet in a cohesive way for a convergence of views. None of the seven countries has territory under the control of Israel or is in a conflict situation. They have space for manoeuvrability and the idea was not to exclude anyone,” she explained when asked about the seven ‘like-minded’ countries.
In this regard she said Musharraf had visited and talked over the telephone with those countries that had not come to the table. Kasuri, too, was in touch with his counterparts in the region. She added that Pakistan was consulting everyone to help the peace process and provide some momentum to it. “The seven countries want to play a helpful role and there should be absolutely no misunderstanding that they are against anyone,” she added. The next meeting of this group would be held in Saudi Arabia but it would not be an OIC meeting.
She said Pakistan is attaching great importance to the first meeting of the anti-terrorism mechanism and there is hope by Islamabad that tangible progress has been made in this direction. “We are going into the meeting with an open mindset,” she added.
When asked whether Pakistan would allow India to speak to the survivors for further investigations into the terrorist blast on the Samjhota Express, she replied, “The injured have given some very helpful information which has led to fresh sketches. If India has something very specific they have to contact us and we will look into it.”
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ISSN 1563-9479 
