The Hindu : Pakistan will be a `major non-NATO ally': Powell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 19, 2004

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Pakistan will be a `major non-NATO ally': Powell

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 18. THE United States today sought to bolster the position of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, with an announcement that the country would be named as a "major non-NATO" ally.

The visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, along with the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, told a news conference that under the new status, future military-military relations between Washington and Islamabad would get a boost. Among others Israel, Japan and Egypt are also "non-NATO" allies of the U.S.

The proposed designation is clearly a concrete expression of gratitude by Washington for the role played by Gen. Musharraf in the fight against terrorism since September 11. The U.S. has also promised to review the travel and visa restrictions with regard to Pakistan. These moves could not have come at a more opportune moment for Gen. Musharraf who is facing flak in the country for implementing the U.S. agenda.

Many independent observers and analysts say that the gesture should help dispel the widely-held view that the U.S. has always dumped Pakistan after its strategic goals are met.

The Pakistani establishment, civil society and press have always felt that Washington was never ready for a long-term relationship. Gen. Powell was at pains to emphasise at the news conference that Washington was genuinely interested in a multi-dimensional and long-term relationship with Islamabad.

Move welcomed

Pakistani officials welcomed the announcement saying it would greatly improve the country's prospect for new arms purchases from Washington. They said the country could have access to advanced weapons for the first time since 1990.

However, it was not immediately clear if Pakistan would get approval for the resumption of the sale of the F-16 fighter planes which was suspended in 1990 when the U.S. imposed sanctions on Pakistan after it concluded Islamabad was producing nuclear weapons. The U.S. sanctions became tougher in 1998 after Pakistan conducted its maiden nuclear tests. At his press meet in New Delhi Gen. Powell had indicated that there was no change in U.S. policy in the sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

Defence cooperation between Islamabad and Washington was revived in 2002. Pakistan has identified a number of hi-tech military hardware it would like to buy from Washington. Indications from the U.S. were that it would like to help Pakistan if it was ready to fight terrorism, particularly from Afghanistan.

Nuclear proliferation in the context of the scandal involving the transfer of nuclear technology by A.Q. Khan, progress in the operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and India-Pakistan relations were the other subjects that figured in the discussions between Gen. Powell, Gen. Musharraf and the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

Mr. Kasuri expressed the hope that some of the irritants caused by the travel advisory and restrictive visa for U.S. would be overcome soon. The U.S. declared Pakistan a "non-family station" and imposed travel and visa restrictions following a blast in a church in the diplomatic enclave here.

To a question on nuclear proliferation, Gen. Powell said questions had arisen as to not only what Dr. Khan and his associates might have been doing, but whether there was knowledge within the Government at the time it was happening. "I think this is a logical and proper question to ask and I am sure that Pakistani authorities would want it known as well. What we are interested in is going after this network, this network that was providing technology to develop nuclear weapons to some very dangerous countries around the world. And it is in our mutual interest, of Pakistan, the interest of the rest of the world, to make sure the network has been completely pulled up and make sure that all those who were participating in the network in one way or the other have been identified," he said.

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