Barely a week since he defended a US aid package to Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was back in Washington to convey his country's concerns over conditions for disbursing the aid.Qureshi on Tuesday made his second trip to Washington in less than a week. He met Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and congressional authors of legislation that authorises the US to give $1.5 billion a year between 2010 and 2014 to Pakistan.

 Pakistan's military brass have signalled their opposition to language in the bill that links US military aid to certifications that Pakistan is acting against terrorists.

Obama is expected to sign the bill on Wednesday but not before Congress issues a statement allaying concerns raised in Islamabad. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley on Tuesday noted that the legislation, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, Richard Lugar and House Representative Howard Berman, was passed with significant backing on a bilateral basis.

"From our standpoint, the bill is a very important step forward in terms of balancing the type of assistance that we would provide to the Pakistan government: supporting consolidation of democratic institutions; expanding the rule of law; building the capacity of government institutions, promoting respect for internationally recognised human rights; promoting economic freedom, sustainable economic development, investment in people; strengthening public diplomacy," Crowley said.

Describing the ongoing debate in Pakistan over the legislation as healthy, the State Department spokesman said the US administration would help Qureshi answer the questions that have been raised in this debate. “We do not think that the bill in any way impinges on Pakistani sovereignty,” Crowley maintained. Following a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington last week, Qureshi had also declared that the bill did not trample on Pakistan's sovereignty.

The minister returned to Islamabad to find a heated debate over the legislation and received instructions from President Asif Ali Zardari to return to Washington and convey these concerns to the administration. Crowley noted that the strict measures of financial accountability included in the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation were imposed by the US Congress on the US executive branch, not on Pakistan.

US sources, both in the administration and in Congress, have expressed surprise at the uproar over the legislation in Islamabad. They point out that text of the legislation has been public for a while and open to the scrutiny of Pakistani officials - civilian as well as military.

Crowley confirmed on Tuesday that the legislation was drafted in consultation with the Pakistanis. Kerry has also sought to dispel the “myths” surrounding his legislation. A statement released by the Massachusetts Democratic senator's office noted: “Nothing in the bill threatens Pakistani sovereignty. Period.”

The senator said the conditions on military aid reinforce the stated policy of the government of Pakistan, major Pakistani opposition parties, and the Pakistani military and are the basis of bilateral cooperation between the United States and Pakistan. The bill does not discuss the levels of US military aid to Pakistan, which will be determined year by year depending on events on the ground.

Conditions in the bill require the president of the United States to certify to the US Congress that: Pakistan “is continuing to cooperate with the United States” on nuclear nonproliferation; “is making significant efforts towards combating terrorist groups,” including Al-Qaida, the Taliban and their affiliates; and the Pakistani military is not “subverting the political or judicial processes” of the nation.

Los Angeles, October 14
After California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a unanimously passed bill over the carrying of ‘kirpan’ by Sikhs, the bill will be reintroduced in the state assembly.The bill, AB 504, was introduced in February by assembly member Warren Furutani to educate law enforcement agencies to stop the arrests of Sikhs for carrying ‘kirpans’ in California. The assembly passed it unanimously, but Schwarzenegger vetoed it last week, saying it is “unnecessary.” But assembly member Furutani said he would re-introduce the bill at the earliest.

“I am committed to carrying this legislation again until this or any other governor signs it. I urge the Sikh community to stand with me as we continue this fight,” Furutani said. The bill, which was drafted with input from the Police Officers’ Standard and Training Commission (POST) of California, would have been the first such law in the US if it had been okayed by the governor.

Vetoing the bill with a rider, Schwarzenegger said: “It is the policy and practice of the commission to periodically review and update existing course curricula. If the commission determines that training on the ‘kirpan’ is warranted, it can create a programme without this measure.” — IANS 

Washington, October 14
Warning that the Islamist extremists were aiming to gain control over nuclear armed Pakistan, the United States media has told the Obama administration that giving up its goal to defeat the Taliban would be a catastrophe for American interest and major allies such as India.

Now that the once reluctant Pakistan army is geared up to strike in Waziristan, the Obama administration is wavering---and considering a strategy that would give up the US attempt to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, the 'Washington Post' reported.

“Adopting such a strategy would condemn American soldiers to fight without the chance of winning. But it would cripple Pakistan's fight against the jihadists,” the paper said.

It said during the past 10 days, Pakistan's conflict with the Taliban has escalated towards full-scale war---and the extreme Islamist movement has held the initiative.

Pointing out that this weeks' four major attacks demonstrated the Taliban's growing power and ambition, the Post said while underlining the fact that the group no longer aims at controlling the ethnic Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but at gaining control over a nuclear armed state.

All this is bad news for the US, the Post warned saying Washington has vital interest in preventing an extremist takeover in Pakistan and the destabilisation of the region stretching from Afghanistan to India.

Last week, the Obama administration had sought to differentiate between the Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

“They are not the same type of group. The Al-Qaida is a global, transnational jihadist movement that has conducted attacks on the US homeland, conducted attacks on our allies, continues to plan and will to do so again,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

“Again some in the Taliban have similar agendas that have helped the Al-Qaida with safe havens. There's also a significant number of Taliban that are local war lords that have far different agendas. I think to look at them as separate entities, it's certainly not backed up by any of the intelligence,” Gibbs said.

The paper said with the pressure off in Afghanistan, the Taliban forces would have a refuge from offencives by the Pakistani forces.

This would lead to Pakistani army and intelligence services once again striking deals or even alliances with the extremists.

“After all, if the US gives up trying to defeat the Taliban, can it really expect that Pakistan will go on fighting?" said The Washington Post. — PTI