The Hindu : U.S. helping India, Pakistan overcome problems: Powell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 28, 2004

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International - India & World

U.S. helping India, Pakistan overcome problems: Powell

WASHINGTON, MARCH 27. The U.S. is ``still working'' to reconcile old adversaries in South Asia and elsewhere, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has said.

``We still work to reconcile old adversaries, our efforts in the Middle East, in Africa, in South Asia and elsewhere show,'' said Gen. Powell at the annual Kennan Institute dinner here on Wednesday, in a speech just released.

``I spent part of last week in India and Pakistan, working hard to see these two nations that 18 months ago, 20 months ago were on the verge of war — war that might have been a nuclear war — but the headline this time when I was there was, `Pakistan Wins At Cricket,' and they are talking to one another.''

``They are exchanging trade ideas and they are exchanging delegations. And they have an agreement under way being executed now to begin conversations that will lead through the thicket of issues that they have to work on, to include Kashmir,'' Gen. Powell said.

Meanwhile, testifying before the September 11 Commission, the Central Intelligence Agency chief, George Tenet, complained that the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in 1998 resulted in diversion of some of the CIA's resources to monitor their activities.

``After the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in 1998 ... we launched a major effort to improve our ability to warn of the next round of nuclear tests, which entailed the diversion of resources to this issue.''

Pakistan's nuclear tests of 1998 and the military coup in 1999, said Mr. Tenet, strained relations with Pakistan, the principal access point to Afghanistan. But he testified to the fact that the U.S. quickly befriended the coup leader. — PTI

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U.S. helping India, Pakistan overcome problems: Powell