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We have China with us, says Musharraf

B. Muralidhar Reddy

America has succeeded in "pocketing" India, says Minister

ISLAMABAD: As details of India-U.S. deals on the civilian nuclear cooperation and other areas began to sink in, Pakistan on Friday sought to remind its special relationship with China and warned that any effort to project New Delhi as a counter to Beijing could trigger an arms race.

"We have our own options. I mean we have a relationship with the U.S. and we would continue to have it. It is a unipolar world, so the relationship will always be there. But we have a relationship with China as well. I went to China just now and we have a strategic relationship with China," President Pervez Musharraf told a gathering.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was direct in his comments.

He said Washington had succeeded in "pocketing" New Delhi. Implied in the comment was the suggestion that the U.S. would bank on India to pursue its strategic interests in the region.

The Minister said Gen. Musharraf would meet Mr. Bush on Saturday. The President would request Mr. Bush to persuade India to settle the "core" issue of Kashmir.

The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) in a dispatch from Beijing said the two countries were likely to adopt soon a comprehensive plan in the energy sector, under a Framework Agreement arrived at between the two countries last week.

It said the agreement was inked during Gen. Musharraf's visit and includes development of nuclear-based energy resources. "Such cooperation will be in line with Chinese support that is already being extended to develop Chashma nuclear power plant," the news agency said.

Quoting informed sources, it said the two countries would meet in Islamabad shortly to work out a comprehensive five-year energy strategy.

Strike total

Pakistan observed a complete strike on Friday in response to a call given by the religious parties to protest against the offensive cartoons on Prophet Muhammed in the western media.

Though the strike is not directly related to the visit of Mr. Bush, the religious parties appear to have deliberately chosen the day to embarrass Gen. Musharraf to protest against his regime's "collaboration" with the U.S.-led coalition in the war against terrorism.

Reports said no untoward incidents took place barring a couple of skirmishes between the police and the protesters.

The degree of success achieved by the religious parties in enforcing a strike is partly an indication of the overwhelming anti-American sentiment particularly on the policies of the Bush Government towards Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran.

However it being Friday, which is a half working day, the alliance perhaps did not require much mobilisation to enforce the strike. Plus since the explosion in Karachi on Thursday, leading to death of an American diplomat, is still fresh in mind, people perhaps did not want to take any risk.

Bush targeted

At the rallies organised in different parts, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leaders targeted Mr. Bush and accused Gen. Musharraf of implementing his agenda in the region.

The largest protest took place in Multan in the Punjab province where the Opposition leader in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, addressed a 10,000-strong crowd.

He told the protesters Mr. Bush's visit was aimed at "enslaving the Pakistani nation and rewarding General Musharraf for his patriotism to America."

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