US should prepare contingency plan for Pak: Lawmaker

The US government should prepare a 'contingency plan' for Pakistan in case Pervez Musharraf regime falls because of presence of nuclear weapons there.

The US government should prepare a 8220;contingency plan8221; for Pakistan in case Pervez Musharraf regime falls because of presence of nuclear weapons there, a top opposition lawmaker has said while warning that the Islamic country was in for 8220;a very rough period8221;.

Democrat Jane Harman, who is in the House Intelligence Panel, said 8220;more could have been done8221; to prevent the bombing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto8217;s motorcade that killed nearly 140 people last week.

8220;She could have had jammers to prevent these IEDs from going off. And Pakistan8217;s in for a very rough period, and so is the world,8221; the Congresswoman from California said on CNN8217;s 8220;Late Edition8221;.

Harman said Musharraf 8220;is in a weak point,8221; and his election and the way it was brought about 8220;may not have been the best idea8221;.

8220;And I think the US would be wise 8212; and I trust we are doing this 8212; to have contingency plans in the area, especially because should he fall, there are nuclear weapons there,8221; she said.

The Democrat also expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan8217;s tribal areas infested by the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

8220;The tribal areas of Pakistan, which he Musharraf really has no control over, are now the new staging ground or maybe the old staging ground for al-Qaeda. We know that Westerners are training there. It is truly a worrisome situation. 8220;

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However, Harman disagreed that Musharraf was doing 8220;what8217;s necessary8221; to rein in extremists saying the deal he made with tribals 8220;was a colossal strategic mistake8221; for him.

8220;And he Musharraf puts surviving in power ahead of doing the right thing. And I think it will come back to haunt all of us,8221; Harman said.

8220;And the fact that we have not caught Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri six years after 9/11 means two things 8212; one, it means we took our eye off the ball and got bogged down in Iraq, but number two, it means that Musharraf has been a very crafty fellow, and has not protected them particularly, but protected himself in a way that made it very hard for us to get the job done,8221; she said.

Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra, also on the intelligence panel, said the restive tribal region 8220;is the planning and the training ground for radical jihadists in their worldwide threat to the United States8221; and were causing instability in Afghanistan.

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8220;8230;.we should be very worried about what8217;s happening in Pakistan. Not that it means that it8217;s on a path to an imminent collapse, but Pakistan is critical in us being successful in taking out and defeating radical Islamists and al-Qaeda.

8220;You know, the plots that we have seen in the UK, their roots come out of these tribal areas. This is a real threat. We need a strong, stable government in Pakistan that is willing and able to assist us in rooting out this threat.8221;

Defending Musharraf, Hoekstra said the General sees the threat, not only of radical jihadists to the West, but also to his own government and the stability of Pakistan and wants to do 8220;what8217;s necessary8221;.