Indo-Pak peace process doing well without US
OPINION / Richard A Boucher
| Boucher: Well, we have been one of the largest democracies for 200 and some years. Our goal is to support democracy and movement towards democracy wherever it happens. In Pakistan, it is not really an "us against them" scenario. You have political parties pledged to democracy. You have a President who is pledged to democracy. And yes, he is a military ruler. But he has pledged free and fair elections. So we could say our task here is to support everybody. |
| Question: The people of this region believe that the US can play a very important role to settle the Kashmir issue, but it is not doing so. How would you respond to that? |
| Boucher: I think we have played a role as best we can. We are very interested in seeing progress between Pakistan and India. The progress that has been achieved in the last year or two, several years really, is quite remarkable, and certainly the prospects are better. The tensions are lower than at any time for decades. I was working with Secretary Powell in 2001-02 when a lot of people were saying there is a risk of nuclear confrontation. Now, a few years later, we have people saying there is a prospect of solving a decades-old conflict over Kashmir. |
| Our job is to encourage progress. And every time we talk to either India or Pakistan, we find out about where they stand in their relationships and their composite dialogue and terrorism mechanism. We encourage them to keep using those mechanisms, keep moving forward. We encourage them to really finalise some of these things, not just to discuss the option or discuss the Kashmir deal or discuss co-operation. And I think that is the appropriate role for us. |
| We recognise that the movement in Pakistan and Indian relations has been based on statesmen from both sides. President Musharraf has put out ideas, Prime Minister Singh has put out ideas, and they have had conversations at various levels. They are doing quite well without us. Our desire is to keep that ball rolling and see if they can bring some of these things together as soon as possible. |
| Question: There is a very important project called Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. We know that the European countries are having good relations with Iran. But when this comes to the question of IPI, the US is all against the project. It is a belief that the pipeline is going to enhance further the regional peace and security environment. Why this particular position from the US? |
| Boucher: First of all, I don't think you can separate Iran's behaviour in one particular area (inaudible)... from what Iran is doing more generally in the region and in the world. And, yes, Europeans have oil and gas, and petroleum, relationships with Iran. But they are also, like us, pretty much fed up with the way Iran has pursued nuclear weapons. I don't believe Pakistan wants another neighbour with a nuclear weapon. |
| So, you have to look at your bigger interests in all these things. You have to look at the issues of terrorism, you have to look at the issues of Middle East peace. You know, every time we talk to President Musharraf, he is always interested in promoting or pursuing peace in the Middle East, while Iran is directly opposed to that. Iran is trying to sabotage Middle East peace through its support for terrorist groups. So, I don't think you can say this is okay even though Iraq is a problem. |
| (Excerpts from a discussion between US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher and the Pakistani media on June 15) |