Bonanza for Pak, but no N-deal
Hillary Skirts Issue Saying: Committed To Helping Islamabad Meet Real Energy Needs
Chidanand Rajghatta | TNN
Washington:
Lavish praise, modest economic assistance, and selective military supplies were laid out for Pakistan by the United States as it kicked off their high-profile strategic dialogue without immediately meeting Islamabads soaring expectations.
A
$125 million energy sector aid and a slew of social sector projects that will bring Pakistan unspecified millions more was Washingtons cautious first response to Islamabads demand for a civilian nuclear deal and a bill for $35 billion it says it has incurred in the war on terror.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton deftly skirted around questions about the nuclear deal, saying we will listen to and engage with our Pakistani partners on whatever issues the delegation raises, and adding, Were committed to helping Pakistan meet its real energy needs.
Hillary followed that up by saying the two sides are moving forward with $125 million to Pakistan for energy sector projects, an assistance program she announced in Pakistan last October. In addition, she disclosed that USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, the topranking Indian-American in the Obama administration, will sign implementation agreements for three thermal power station rehabilitation projects with Pakistan.
Clinton also said that the two sides had agreed on a multiyear security assistance package, including foreign military financing,
based upon identified mutual strategic objectives.
Qureshi added later that the two sides had agreed to fast-track Pakistans requests that have pending for months and years on the transfer of military equipment. They did not identify the equipment or its value.
Other initiatives unveiled included upgrading significant road infrastructure in Pakistans troubled northwest; concrete steps to help Pakistan boost exports of agricultural products and to improve agricultural infrastructure; greater market access for Pakistani products approval of flight access for Pakistan International Airlines to Chicago, via Barcelona; and priority for setting up Reconstruction Opportunity Zone.
At first glance, the assistance did not amount to much and no dollar figures were disclosed. But in the long run, market access, ROZs, and supply of military equipment, all of it premised on Pakistans continued stabilization, could add up to billions.
Qureshi said the two sides had also agreed to put in place
a mechanism that would resolve the dispute over reimbursement of Coalition Support Fund for the money spent by Pakistan in the US war effort, which by Islamabads account (disputed by Washington) is close to $2 billion. As friends and allies, sort of weve been prickling over dollars and cents, Qureshi complained, while revealing that they had agreed that a substantial sum will be paid to Pakistan by the end of April, and the remaining, hopefully, will be settled by the end of June.
Still none of this just yet meets the high expectations the team from Islamabad and Rawalpindi set out with, including persuading US to recognize Pakistans parity with India (by granting it a civilian nuclear deal), seeking United States mediation on its issues with India, and demanding Indias sidelining, if not ouster, from Afghanistan. On these three issues, Washington remained largely unresponsive.
Asked about Washingtons reluctance to play a role in Pakistans various issues with India, Clinton reverted to the position that it is up to the two countries to engage and the US could at best encourage dialogue between them. Pakistans complaints against Indias role in Afghanistan did not appear to have struck a chord with the US either.
I think its important to recognize that the US has positive relationships with both Pakistan and India
we cant dictate Pakistani foreign policy or Indian foreign policy, she said. But we can encourage, as we do, the in-depth discussion between both countries that we think would benefit each of them with respect to security and development.
Qureshi on his part conceded that as a sovereign country, India has bilateral relations (with Afghanistan) and Pakistan respects that.
Envoy drove hours to stop Qureshi scan
The extent to which the Obama administration will go to humour Pakistan is highlighted by the fact that its envoy to UK drove four hours to Manchester to ensure that a zealous American airline security does not body-scan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi ahead of his arrival. When Qureshis flight to the US stopped in Manchester this week, American ambassador in London, Louis Susman, drove four hours to be there for the hour-long layover. Susmans mission was to avoid any unpleasantness including the possibility that Britishbased US airline security might insist on body-scanning Qureshi that might start the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington off on the wrong foot, the Washington Post reported. As Pakistan and the US struggle to overcome what both characterise as a mutual trust deficit, the Obama administration hopes that the upgraded talks will consolidate the new partnership the president promised in exchange for Pakistans cooperation in shutting down militant havens. PTI
) the fact is that if the dynamics of the insurgency in J&K had appeared to have been shifting significantly towards the nineties, and away from everything that had been achieved during Musharraf's rule, India would not have even considered withdrawing any number of troops. Yet we have seen the possibility of 30,000+ Indian security forces being withdrawn.
