Daily Times, March 23, 2005
US, India must discuss Pakistan’s future: Blackwill
BANGALORE: The United States must have “intense and secret” discussions with India about Pakistan’s future, said former US Ambassador Robert D Blackwill on Tuesday.
Talking about India-US relations, Blackwill said, “The US and India have a huge stake in the future of Pakistan,” adding that both countries want a “democratic, stable and prosperous” Pakistan.
In an apparent reference to Pakistan’s president General Pervez Musharraf, Blackwill said “Pakistan is currently unstable because it depends on one man for governance.” He said the Bush administration had wanted to strike a balance between working with Pakistan in the war against terror and the need to dismantle the terrorist network inside Pakistan. “However, the terrorist infrastructure is still there,” he said. India accuses Pakistan of training and arming militants who want independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan, and it wants the US to press Pakistan to crack down on such elements.
Blackwill said the US must be careful not to act harshly. He asked, “If Pakistan is isolated, what will it lead to?” The United States must talk to India to find ways for the return of democracy and stability in Pakistan, along with the destruction of terrorist bases, he said, adding, “We should initiate an intense and secret discussion with India regarding the future of Pakistan, including contingency planning.”
Drawing a road map for India and the US to improve relations, Blackwill said the Bush administration must promote the expansion of G-8 group of industrialised countries to include India and China. “Their economic punch and increasing geopolitical reach demand that they also be at the table,” he said. The United States must also freely sell civilian nuclear reactors, advanced weapon systems and high technology goods to India, and should support India’s ambition of a permanent seat on the UNSC, he said. ap
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