Indians lobby against Bush nominee

The Assistant Secretary’s appointment is still some time away, and with several others contenders for the job, Tahir-Kheli’s nomination is far from certain. But already, Indian-American activists have produced copious citations to show that Tahir-Kheli would be sympathetic to the Pakistani cause to the detriment of India, and have alleged that her father worked for the Pakistani nuclear establishments.Some of the comments posted on the e-groups discussion boards:

‘‘She was quite sympathetic to the military regime of General Zia-ul Haq during the Reagan years. I would be most disturbed if she managed to get the Assistant Secretary position.’’

‘‘She belongs to the old school of thought that consistently seeks ‘parity’ in US treatment of India and Pakistan. So this is not at all a good news for India.’’

Tahir-Kheli says she is ‘‘not in the running’’ for the post, but is evidently upset at being the subject of a propaganda war. She told The Indian Express on Saturday that she was first and foremost an American and that Indo-U.S ties was at its very best during her watch at the National Security Council during the Reagan years.

Tahir-Kheli, 56, was a senior director at the White House NSC under Gen. Colin Powell. Her prospective nomination is partly on account of her proximity to the presumptive Secretary of State. She says she worked hard for Indo-U.S relations during her beat ‘‘at a time when it was not a high priority or a very popular proposition.’’ Ironically, she says, it was on her watch that the two countries signed the LCA deal and she even went to Bangalore in this connection.

‘‘You know the LCA that flew this week? I even rode in the simulator!’’ Tahir-Kheli said. The deal to supply Cray supercomputers to India was also finalised during my watch, she added.

The prospective South Asia point person in fact boasts of a fine Indian pedigree. Her father, Raziuddin Siddique, was a Hyderabadi who was vice-chancellor of Osmania University in the 1950s. He was also a founder member of the Indian Academy of Science. Her grandfather was a ‘peshi’ minister to the Nizam. The family moved to Pakistan soon after partition and her father not only went on to found the Pakistan Academy of Science, but also the University of Sind in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and later the Islamabad University.

Tahir-Kheli says reports that her father worked for the Pakistan nuclear establishment are a canard. However, he was briefly a member of the Pakistan Atomic Commission in the 1950s and worked with Einstein and Heisenberg, she said. At Osmania, he counted former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and former scientific advisor to the Indian government V.S.Arunachalam among his students, she added. Siddique died in 1997.

While her Indian roots makes her suspect among the militaristic Pakistani establishment, Indian activists are not impressed either. They have been citing her recent writings to suggest that she ‘‘fully tows the Pakistani line of getting USA to act as a ‘mediator’ on Kashmir.’’

In fact, one deeply suspicious Indian activist described her as ‘‘one smart cookie who manages to come across as a soft-spoken and thoughtful person.’’‘‘Unlike many of her male Pakistani counterparts, who tend to look ridiculous with their anti-India rhetoric, she can speak very sweetly about India’s democratic vibrancy or its increased economic clout and yet manage to slip in pointed barbs at India’s human rights record or India’s intransigence on Kashmir. Given the level of knowledge of US Congressmen on South Asian affairs, I would be willing to bet that many in the administration might actually believe that Shirin is from India!’’ the activist wrote.

The Indian Embassy has kept itself aloof and asked the activists not to involve it in its debates. ‘‘It is not the duty of the Indian Embassy or the Indian government to suggest who or how its officials should be chosen,’’ a senior diplomat said.In a recent article, Tahir-Kheli has said the U.S can play only a limited role in resolving the Kashmir dispute. She says Washington must put human rights violations in Kashmir on its bilateral agenda and press India to open the state to the monitoring agencies. At the same time, it must also tell Pakistan that terrorism from any source will not be tolerated.

‘‘My interest in Pakistan’s stability is well-merited. No sensible Indian should want Pakistan to go down the tubes and be taken over by right-wing crazies,’’ she told this correspondent in an interview.

While Tahir-Kheli insists she is not a contender for the job, there are plenty of other names doing the rounds. The State Department’s internal preference is said to be Matt Daley, who served in New Delhi and has been a prominent figure in the recent Indo-U.S dialogue. Others in the running are James Clad, a former diplomat and a Georgetown University professor, and Dave Sloan, a South Asia expert currently at Scowcroft Associates.

The Bush telegraph is also abuzz with reports that Jim Lilley, a former U.S ambassador to China and Taiwan may be nominated as envoy to New Delhi.