ISLAMABAD, 1 February 2007 — The US administration should intervene to balance the proposed legislation seeking to link military aid to Pakistan with the country’s anti-terror efforts, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said yesterday. “We expect the administration to intervene and we expect the language of the final legislation to be more balanced,” spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a press briefing.
The bill. already adopted by the US House of Representatives, urges President Bush to ensure Pakistan is making all efforts to “prevent Taleban from operating in areas under its sovereign control.” Noncompliance would result in a suspension of military assistance, including sales of weapons and spares. “We are engaged with the US government as well as with the Congress for amendments to the bill which has been cleared by the House of Representatives,” Tasnim said. To a question about Pakistan’s becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, she said though Pakistan qualifies, it was not seeking membership. To another question, Tasnim said Pakistan would not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
India-Pakistan Talks
India and Pakistan will try to evolve a joint mechanism to deal with the menace of terrorism at a meeting here on March 7. Tariq Usman Hyder, additional secretary at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, will lead the Pakistani side at the talks. The proposal of a joint mechanism to deal with terrorism was mooted during the last secretarial-level talks held in New Delhi recently. The schedule for the talks was agreed during the visit to Pakistan of Indian Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.
Recognition of Israel
Pakistan yesterday unveiled its policy concerning the recognition of Israel saying Islamabad had conditionally linked the recognition issue with the establishment of permanent peace in the Middle East. Tasnim said Islamabad wanted the settlement of the Palestine issue in accordance with the wishes of the Palestinian people.
She said President Pervez Musharraf recently visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates to gain support for a Middle East peace initiative. “His current visit to Indonesia and Malaysia is also seeking support from non-Arab members of the OIC for a well-coordinated plan to resolve the Palestine problem.”
Extradition Treaty
Pakistan and the United Kingdom are to sign several agreements concerning the extradition of terror suspects and sharing of information in order to prevent terrorism. Talks were held here yesterday between Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah and Director of Counterterrorism at the Home Office in the United Kingdom, William Nye. Pakistan and the United Kingdom have been cooperating in the fight against terrorism but there have been no bilateral agreements.
