Pak army chief gets top gun salute in US

General Karamat called on Defence Secretary William Cohen, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger and Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering, besides a host of top Pentagon officials including the US Joint Chief of Staff, General Henry H Shelton and Karamat’s American counterpart, Chief of the Army Staff, General Dennis Reimer.

South Asian diplomatic circles were agog with the red carpet welcome General Karamat got considering the current tensions inUS-Pakistan relations. Even foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan’s visit last year did not generate as much attention.

Karamat also had a talk with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright although sources said the Secretary “dropped by” when he was with Undersecretary Pickering.

The discussions covered just about everything… proliferation, India-Pakistan relations, narcotics, terrorism. “It was a very useful meeting,” a senior administration official told The Indian Express.

General Karamat is also said to have discussed the question of the sequestered F-16s but as usual there was no breakthrough except for the US restating its position that it is making sincere efforts to resell the planes to a third party and reimburse Pakistan the money. US officials also sought to understand the gridlock in Siachen and how it could be resolved. But the real camaraderie erupted at the Pentagon, which has been feeling bereft at the political leadership of the two countries allowing military ties to flounder.Analysts say the bonhomie has more to with the old institutional ties the military of the two countries share than any new-found warmth. Many Pakistani officers have trained in the United States under military exchange programmes which have since been suspended by the political bosses, a sore point with the military brass.

Sources said General Karamat himself is a familiar figure at the Pentagon, having trained at the National War College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In fact, the present US COAS was there at the same time and the two are said to be good friends. The Pakistani General was inducted into the college International Hall of Fame, an honour reserved for graduates who reach very high posts in their countries. The General also received two high military awards, the Legion of Merit and a Command Medal, from the defence department and the US army.

Analysts say if anything the camaraderie on show demonstrated how much the two countries have suffered because of the breakdown in military relationsfollowing the Pressler Amendment. Among the subjects General Karamat sought to raise in his talks was military training for Pakistani officers under a Pentagon program called IMET. Even US generals feel that suspension of IMET has affected the interaction between the armed forces of the two countries.

US officials are all the more impressed with Karamat because of the circumspection he has exercised in the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan. At a reception in his honour hosted by Pakistan Embassy, Karamat was asked about the possible role for the army in Pakistan.

“The army has taken a back seat as the past army outings into the political arena have not been viewed well,” he replied. The General also ticked off a reporter who suggested he ought to take more interest in the internal strife in the country. He said, “I am not the chief of internal security. I have my duties to perform and the army will do its duty whenever it is called out to do that. I do not want to interfere in other people’swork.”

“Be patient, Pakistanis should be patient,” the General counselled a reporter who asked what message of assurance he could give to the Pakistani people in the present gloomy situation. “Pakistan has done quite well to stay afloat and keep its head above the water, though it could do better,” he added.

Such remarks have gone down well with his American interlocutors who expressed great happiness at the way talks with him have gone. “(The visit) was more useful than many such useful visits,” Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Karl Inderfurth was quoted as saying.

Karamat also announced that the US army chief General Dennis Reimer would be going to Pakistan in April on a reciprocal visit and CENTCOM chief General Zinni is also expected to visit Pakistan soon.