The Hindu : Front Page : No nuclear deal with Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 05, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

No nuclear deal with Pakistan

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Says President Bush: Islamabad needs to do a lot more to defeat the Al-Qaeda

ISLAMABAD: United States President George W. Bush on Saturday sent out a clear message that Pakistan had to do "a lot of work" to defeat the terrorist outfit, Al-Qaeda. He ruled out forging with Islamabad an accord similar to the civilian nuclear deal Washington clinched with New Delhi.

On a 24-hour visit here, Mr. Bush reiterated gently but firmly the U.S. concerns vis-à-vis Pakistan about terrorism, proliferation and democracy.

In response to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's plea for facilitation on Kashmir, Mr. Bush said the best way of resolving the issue was through dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Alternative to radicalism

At a joint press conference with Gen. Musharraf after two hours of talks, the U.S. President repeatedly talked about the threat posed by terrorists. He said Gen. Musharraf envisioned a modern state, which provided an alternative to radicalism.

"There's a variety of things we can continue to cooperate on. Perhaps the most important one of all is to defeat these terrorists, some of whom are lodged here in Pakistan, some of whom have tried to kill your President. And close cooperation is needed to defeat them," Mr. Bush said in response to a question.

Gen. Musharraf talked about the difference between terrorism and extremism and the need for a strategy to tackle both. "Then we need to strategise... We have strategised on how to deal with terrorism, and then strategised also on how to deal with extremism, which is very different from terrorism. So we have strategised both. Then we need to come to the implementation part."

Mr. Bush took political and diplomatic circles by surprise, saying part of his mission to Pakistan was to "determine whether or not the President is as committed as he has been in the past to bringing these terrorists to justice, and he is." Asked what more the U.S. expected him to do in the war against terrorism, Mr. Bush said Gen. Musharraf understood the stakes, responsibility and "the need to make sure our strategy is able to defeat the enemy."

Mr. Bush said Pakistan was an important partner in the fight against proliferation and it agreed to join the Container Security Initiative, an international effort to stop the spread of dangerous material shipments. "We'll continue to work together to ensure that the world's most dangerous weapons do not end up in the hands of the terrorists."

Elaborating why Washington was not looking at the option of extending the nuclear deal with Islamabad, he said India and Pakistan were two different countries with "different needs and histories." U.S. Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman would soon be in the region to work with the Pakistan Government on the country's energy needs.

To a question on the Iran gas pipeline, Mr. Bush said, "Our beef with Iran is not the pipeline; our beef with Iran is the fact that they want to develop a nuclear weapon. And I believe a nuclear weapon in the hands of the Iranians would be very dangerous for all of us. It would endanger world peace. So we're working very hard to convince the Iranians to get rid of their nuclear ambitions."

In his opening remarks, Gen. Musharraf said he had expressed during his talks with Mr. Bush Pakistan's deepest regret over the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Karachi on Thursday.

Gen. Musharraf emphasised the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Pakistan and said Saturday's meeting laid the foundations for a very strong, sustainable, broad-based and a long-term relationship.

He said the U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue would be institutionalised, creating a framework to look at cooperation in trade and investment, defence, education and in the fight against terrorism.

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