U.S. Hopes For Stable Indian Subcontinent, Yet To Discuss ISI Terror Links

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States is hoping for a stable Indian subcontinent as tensions rise between two nuclear-armed neighbors with the release of WikiLeaks exposures recently.

On the question raised by Delhi that the U.S. should make sure that the military aid to Pakistan is not used against India and in supporting terror across the border, the U.S. state department spokesman PJ Crowley said, “A stable Pakistan is not a threat to India. A stable India does not need to be a threat to Pakistan. In giving military assistance to Pakistan, we have systems of accountability to be sure that it is being employed in accordance with the agreements that we have with Pakistan.”

“Where we have questions about the nature of Pakistani employment of U.S. assistance, we raise those questions directly with the Pakistani Government. We have in the past and we will continue to do that,” Crowley said in support of assuring Indians, adding, “So building up the capability of Pakistan to deal with the threat within its own borders should not be seen as a threat to India.”

Since the leakage of documents, Crowley reassured that Washington had spoken to Islamabad, Kabul and Delhi among others.

However, when asked if the U.S. Government had spoken to the Pakistani Government about the role of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI in Mumbai attacks and in other terror cases, “since the leaks,” Crowley said, “I can’t say that we’ve had a substantive conversation about this (since the leaks), but there are concerns about making sure that we bring – that Pakistan bring to justice those responsible for the Mumbai attack.”

“We’ve had that conversation with Pakistan and India many, many times. And our concerns about elements within Pakistan and connections that those elements have with the Pakistani Government, we’ve had that conversation with Pakistan many times,” he added.

“It is important for Pakistan and India to have a stable relationship. They, likewise, will have to have a relationship going forward, and if it is stable, then the world, including the U.S., benefits,” state department spokesperson, Crowley, told journalists.

“So we are very, very conscious of the complexity that involves these overlapping relationships, and we’ve worked hard in our dialogue with each country to try to make this a more regional approach to a common challenge,” he said.

“We have important national and global interests with each of these countries. Our support for Afghanistan is not taken from Pakistan. Our support for Pakistan does not mean a negative for India,” he said.

“It is vitally important that these countries develop reinforcing relationships; that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s why one of the fundamental changes in the strategy that the president approved last year was to make sure that we are looking at this in a regional rather than just an isolated issue. So part of the solution to Afghanistan does, in fact, fall within the borders of Pakistan,” he said.

---