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| India-Pakistan |
| U.S. came close to declaring Pakistan a "terrorist" State in 1992 |
| 2006-04-30 |
| NEW DELHI: Proof is now available to support suggestions that the United States came close to declaring Pakistan a terrorist State in 1992, as Islamabad increased support to militant elements operating in Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistani scholar Hussain Haqqani reveals that a May 12, 1992 letter from U.S. Secretary of State James Baker to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directly blamed Islamabad for extending support to terrorists operating in India. Handing over the letter to Mr. Sharif, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Nicholas Platt also provided some "talking points," which are, now, in the possession of Mr. Haqqani, who had worked as Press Secretary to both Mr. Sharif and Ms. Benazir Bhutto. The "talking points" are damning. "We are very confident of our information that your intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, and elements of the Army are supporting Kashmiri and Sikh militants who carry out acts of terrorism... This support takes the form of providing weapons, training and assistance in infiltration ... We're talking about direct, covert support from the Government of Pakistan," Mr. Platt's written "talking points"stated. "Our information is certain. It does not come from the Indian Government. Please consider the serious consequences to our relationship if this support continues... If the situation persists, the Secretary of State may find himself required by law to place Pakistan in the U.S.G. [United States Government] State sponsors of terrorism list... You must take concrete steps to curtail assistance to militants and not allow their training camps to operate in Pakistan or Azad Kashmir," the "talking points" added. In his book, "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military," Mr. Haqqani referred to a meeting that Mr. Sharif presided over on May 18, 1992. "We have been covering our tracks so far and will cover them even better in the future," Mr. Haqqani, who was present at the meeting, quoted ISI chief Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir as saying. According to Mr. Haqqani, Mr. Sharif agreed with this assessment and sanctioned a sum of $2 million for stronger lobbying efforts in the U.S. Foreign Secretary Shehryar Khan, however, disagreed with this assessment, the book said. The Foreign Secretary said Pakistan would "probably be more successful by focussing on diplomacy and political action" in favour of the Kashmiris, instead of "setting off bombs." At the same meeting, Chief of Army Staff Asif Nawaz said it was not in Pakistan's interest to get into a confrontation with the U.S., but "we cannot shut down military operations against India either." The removal of Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir as ISI chief in 1993 took the pressure off Pakistan and the Americans backed off from their threat of declaring Islamabad a State sponsor of terrorism. |
| Posted by:john |
| #7 "the United States came close to declaring Pakistan a terrorist State in 1992" It's not too late to correct this mistake. |
| Posted by: Jomons Unamble3338 2006-04-30 22:10 |
| #6 Yes, Alaska Paul, but until they stop overtly encouraging jihad to get employ their excess boys, they'll still be a threat to Kashmir and Afghanistan. We're going to have to change their entire school curriculum and replace all their textbooks for a start. In the meantime, perhaps regularly publicizing the number of Pakistani lads killed due to an excess of religious enthusiasm would be helpful to dampen that enthusiasm. Anonymously placed full page ads in the local newspapers, perhaps, or a regular addition to the radio news. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-04-30 15:04 |
| #5 We sure as hell are not going into the nation building business with Pakistan. Actually, who cares what happens to them as long as the nukes are secured. The Paks are propped up with ours and Saudi money. They used to make clothing with their cheap labor, among other things, but I do not know their economic situation w/r/t foreign exchange now (not counting the Khan nuke enterprise). Without Saudi money, they won't be much. The madarassas will dry up for lack of funds, and the fundos over at J&K will not have any money to persue their mischief. I think that all of Pak-Land needs to be neutralized. These guys are hopeless. I wonder if we can buy off the chaps over Peshawar way for safe passage for supplies to Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-04-30 14:51 |
| #4 Between the US hammer and the Indian Anvil, there is enough pressure to both secure nukes and ensure civilized behavior on the part of the Pakistanis. |
| Posted by: john 2006-04-30 12:19 |
| #3 Dicey, if Perv goes down, we have to secure the nukes. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-04-30 12:06 |
| #2 What is your solution John? |
| Posted by: ed 2006-04-30 09:20 |
| #1 If the situation persists, the Secretary of State may find himself required by law to place Pakistan in the U.S.G. [United States Government] State sponsors of terrorism list. Yet in 2006, the situation continues.. The removal of Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir as ISI chief in 1993 took the pressure off Pakistan and the Americans backed off from their threat of declaring Islamabad a State sponsor of terrorism. But there are an endless supply of snakes. Javed Nasir was removed but a decade later another ISI chief, General Mahmood Ahmed, had Omar Saeed Sheikh wire $ 100,000 to Maohammed Atta. The snake pit needs to be cleaned out.. |
| Posted by: john 2006-04-30 09:12 |