US insults Musharraf while announcing Pak visit …

The tough US position on Islamabad’s belligerent military dictatorship and its repudiation of Islamabad’s Kashmir card was articulated even as the Pakistani leadership was rejoicing over the White House decision on Monday that the President will stop over in Islamabad for a few hours on his way back from a five-day visit to India.

In the precise and stunningly up front words of a senior administration official who briefed the media on the developments, "The president will go to Pakistan because the Pakistani nation is a friend, not because he approves of or acquiesces in the government of General Pervaiz Musharraf."

"He is not going to mediate the Kashmir dispute," the official added.

The official also outlined what he said were "important national interests" the US had in stake in Pakistan today. These include: avoiding the threat of a conflict in South Asia; promoting the return of democracy to Pakistan; fighting terrorism; preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and creating an environment of regional peace and security. However, it was direct renunciation of the military regime in Pakistan on the eve of the trip that was surprising. In fact, some reports suggest that US officials are considering a direct Presidential television address to the Pakistani people bypassing the ruling junta.

The official compounded the obvious insult to the military strongmanby saying rather than going to the region to mediate on Kashmir,President Clinton was going "to continue his consistent efforts toadvance the interests outlined above, as he has over the last sevenyears, and as he did in his meeting with then-Prime Minister NawazSharif at Blair House last Fourth of July." That understanding the official added, played a key role in ending a tense conflict in Kargil .

Explaining the rationale for the Pakistan stopover, officials saidthe president believes it is crucial that he carry a message ofrestraint and dialogue to both capitals on this trip. He also wantsto assure that the US has lines of communication that may benecessary and useful in a crisis, and the kind of relationship thatenabled him to play the effective role he did with Nawaz Sharif lastJuly. Asked what kind of reaction the proposed stopover in Pakistan mightdraw from the Indian people, the senior official said the Presidentspoke with Prime Minister Vajpayee on the phone and informed him ofwhat he was doing. "I think that the Indian people understand and theIndian government understands that we have vital interests here andthat those interests are best kept protected by lines ofcommunication," he added. While disclosing that the President will be in Pakistan on "a relatively short visit of several hours" to Islamabad and did not plan on staying overnight, the official said "this trip is primarilya trip to India. We will be spending five days in India. We will bevisiting five cities in India."

"When the prime minister and the president spoke today, they spokemostly about the upcoming events in India and how important it is forus to turn a new page in U.S.-Indian relations. So I thnk that theprimary focus on where we’re hoping that this trip will mark adeparture in U.S. policy is in the relationship with India," theofficial explained.

In a further blow to Islamabad’s hope of selling its position onvarious issues to the US President, the senior official said "thepresident will obviously tailor his approach in Pakistan to reflecthis discussions with Indian leaders."

"I think we share with India many of the concerns that we’ve mentioned," he added.

The official said the President recognizes that there is a spillover effect in Pakistan of what has occurred for the last 20 years in Afghanistan; that the mujaheddin, the jihad culture, Kalashnikovculture is spilling over into Pakistan; that there are a number oforganizations that area pursuing jihad, including in Kashmir. The acknowledgement that the fundamentalism and terrorism arisingfrom Afghanistan is infecting Kashmir’s largely peaceful indigenousmovement is an acceptance of India’s version of the problem. In fact,officials went so far as to say the unchecked growth of terrorism places Pakistan itself at risk. "We had had this discussion with Prime Minister Sharif, so this is a continuation with General Musharraf. They need to get some control over these organizations, and we believe the first place to start is with one organization, the Harkat Ul Mujaheddin, which the U.S. hasdesignated a terrorist organization," one official said, indicatingwhat could be the substance of Washington’s agenda in Islamabad.

The White House agenda for Pakistan and its delinking of thatstopover with the India visit came amid a torrent of advise andcounsel from lawmakers wanting him to give Islamabad a dressing down.

"Recognizing that the President has made the decision to go toPakistan, I expect him to demand concrete actions towards restoringdemocracy, curbing terrorism and non-proliferation. I continue to betroubled by Pakistan’s relationship with organizations that have beenlinked to the hijacking of the Indian Airlines jet in January. I hopethe President will use this opportunity to address our concerns onsecurity," Congressman Sam Gejdenson said.

Some others like Representative Jim McDermott expressed dismay at thedecision fearing that it may confer legitimacy on the militaryregime. "This being said I also hope that since President Clinton…will not leave until he has a full explanation as to why Pakistanallows a multitude of terrorist groups to operate from its land."

"I will also insist that the junta in Islamabad must undertakeverifiable steps to stop its proxy war against India, especially inthe state of Jammu and Kashmir. This means, in effect, that terroristorganizations such as the Harkat ul-Mujaheddin and Lashkar e-Toybamust be outlawed by Pakistan. This means that the regime in Islamabadmust shut down all the training camps that produce these terroroutfits. This means that Pakistan cannot be fully recognized amongthe world’s decent nations until it takes real and serious steps tohalt its role in supporting the ‘jihad’ (holy war) against India overKashmir," Congressman Gary Ackerman said in another statement.