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| Sunday, 16 March 2003 |
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Bush waives coup-related sanctions on Pakistan by Stephen Collinson, WASHINGTON, March 14 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush unveiled two new sweetners for his Pakistani anti-terror ally President Pervez Musharraf Friday, waiving sanctions imposed after a 1999 coup and announcing he would welcome Musharraf's prime minister this month. Bush dispensed with the last set of US punitive measures against Pakistan, as Musharraf agonized over which side to take on a US-sponsored United Nations resolution which could trigger war with Iraq. He styled the move as important to US efforts to win the campaign against terrorism launched after the attacks on New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and argued it would help Pakistan transition to full democracy. Pakistan emerged as a key US ally after those attacks, severing its links to the Afghan Taliban rulers who protected the al-Qaeda network of terror suspect Osama bin Laden. In return, Bush lifted a raft of nuclear and non-proliferation sanctions against Pakistan, signed off on a large package of aid and debt relief, and administered frequent doses of praise for Musharraf. The biggest dividend from that cooperation came with the recent arrest of alleged terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a key lieutenant of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The White House also said on Friday that Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali would visit Bush on March 28, setting up a highly sensitive visit should the United States be embroiled at the time in war with Iraq. Pakistan has been agonising on which side to come down if a resolution, which could trigger war, comes to a vote in the United Nations Security Council. It is torn between a reluctance to be seen to endorse the use of force against a fellow Muslim nation, and a desire to secure its status as a US ally, a key goal in its decades-long struggle with bitter rival India for Washington's affections. As well as Bush, Jamali is also expected to see Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and top congressional powerbrokers. "The leaders will discuss bilateral, regional, international issues, as well as our close cooperation between the United States and Pakistan in the war on terror," said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer. It was not immediately clear if the lifting of the sanctions was tied to Pakistan's vote on the security council resolution. Senior officials in Pakistan have said that they will not support military action, and indications are that the cabinet has decided to abstain if a pro-war resolution is put to the council for a vote. However, even as the visit was confirmed, there was still doubt in the foreign policy community here if it would go ahead in the event of war, as Musharraf's government would not welcome being identified with a US campaign against Iraq. Mindful of domestic Muslim sentiment opposed to Musharraf's cooperation with the US anti-terror fight, the Islamabad government has taken pains to speak up for the welfare of the Iraqi people. Musharraf even admitted in a US television interview this month that he wished Pakistan has not been elected to the Security Council at such a delicate time. Jamali's trip will follow several months after a visit to Washington by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and preview a visit here by Musharraf expected around the middle of this year. A civilian parliament was restored in Pakistan after general elections in November, but critics say that Musharraf, who led the 1999 bloodless coup against an elected government, has made a mockery of democracy, by ensuring that the legislature has little power to challenge his rule. Bush determined that waiving of the sanctions would "facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan" and "was important to United States efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism. The sanctions were imposed under Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act and prohibit the export of US defense materiel and military assistance to a country whose head of government has been deposed. |
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