New Delhi, March 16
US Secretary of State Colin Powell today walked a diplomatic tightrope and sought to please both India and Pakistan — the former by stressing that Islamabad should end “cross-border violence” and the latter by refraining from using words like “terrorism” and “terrorist training camps”.
The visiting American leader said he believed that “activity” across the Line of Control had gone down significantly and assured that he would ask Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in this regard.
“I hope it stays that way. I am pleased that commitments have been made to go after these camps. I will be talking to President Musharraf about this when I see him in the next leg of my trip. I think it is important this kind of activity (should) not only be something for the winter season but it really has to be of a more permanent nature in order for us to see the kind of progress that we are hoping for,” Mr Powell said in his joint press interaction with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha after their 90-minute talks in Hyderabad House. The Sinha-Powell discussions continued over a working lunch.
Mr Powell also called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, held talks with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and PM’s Principal Secretary and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, besides meeting with Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi.
Significantly, during the 25-minute-long interaction with the Press, Mr Powell did not even once use words like “cross border terrorism” and “terrorist training camps” while commenting on Indo-Pak relations.
Mr Sinha conveyed to Mr Powell the Indian concerns over proliferation in the wake of the nuclear technology leak in Pakistan. “There is a shared concern (between the two countries) about the nuclear black market that has existed and the danger of nuclear devices falling in the wrong hands, in the hands of non-state actors or terrorists. We also had a discussion on the Proliferation Security Initiative,” Mr Sinha said.
Mr Powell said the USA was aware of the role played by Dr A.Q. Khan. “We had intelligence information concerning Dr Khan, the network, and how Dr Khan acknowledged what he has done and we are pleased that we are getting a great deal of information from Pakistan authorities as a result of their interrogation of Dr Khan and his associates.”
Stating that he would speak with President Musharraf over the nuclear leak issue, he said: “I am confident that General Musharraf is determined... to get to the heart of this, to make sure that there is no residual element of this network left,” Mr Powell added.
On the outsourcing controversy,
Mr Sinha butted in to give out his government’s stand even though the question was put to Mr Powell, which the Secretary of State had replied.
Mr Sinha said India and the USA today agreed to remain engaged on the issue of outsourcing. He added that the two sides would not allow this or any other issue to “create any misunderstandings between us”. He made it clear that India was going ahead with the liberalisation process autonomously and was determined to continue with it.
Mr Powell said outsourcing was a reality of the 21st century, though he also clarified that Washington was not seeking any quid pro quo in this regard. “While we have outsourced some jobs and positions to India, there are opportunities for Americans as well to service Indian needs.
We hope that India understands the need for reform so that we can have more opportunities here.”
Asked about the possibility of the USA supplying F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, Mr Powell simply said no decision in this regard had been taken.
Mr Powell said the two sides discussed exports controls, the “quartet issues” and the “Next Steps in Strategic Partnership”
(NSSP) agreement.
