11 October 2001

Boucher on Powell's Coming Trip to India, Pakistan

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Secretary of State Colin Powell will thank the leaders of India and Pakistan for their cooperation in the fight against terrorism when he visits the two countries in a few days.

"I think the most important thing is to thank India and Pakistan, each in their own way, for their cooperation, to talk about how to continue acting together and moving together against terrorism, and to talk about the very important relationships we have with India and the very important relationship with have with Pakistan as well," Boucher told reporters during his daily briefing in Washington October 11.

A State Department press notice said Powell will depart Washington for the Asian subcontinent after October 12 en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Shanghai.

Commenting on the U.S. view of the future of Afghanistan, Boucher said the United States believes that Afghanistan needs a broad-based government.

"Were there to be such a broad-based government in Afghanistan, we would intend to help that government with reconstruction, with developing the country," Boucher added.

Concerning the U.S. and British military action against terrorist targets in Afghanistan, Boucher said every effort is being made to avoid civilian casualties. While attacking terrorists, the United States is delivering humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, Boucher said.

Following are excerpts from Boucher's October 11 briefing with comments about India, Pakistan and Afghanistan:

Question: When Secretary Powell goes to India and Pakistan soon, what messages is he going to take? And specifically on the question of nuclear instability there and on Mr. Vajpayee's statements earlier suggesting that India might take military action in Kashmir?

Mr. Boucher: I am not going to get into too much detail and specifics or to predict which aspect will be discussed. But I think the most important thing is to thank India and Pakistan, each in their own way, for their cooperation, to talk about how to continue acting together and moving together against terrorism, and to talk about the very important relationships we have with India and the very important relationship we have with Pakistan as well.

Question: This morning, the Ambassador of India was speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and he said that if India will have another terrorist attack supported by Pakistan, India will attack Pakistan. Now, in the midst of this war going on against Afghanistan and all that, so how Secretary will ease this tension? I mean, is he going to talk with General Musharraf that what he is doing into India, it's better not to do at this time?

Mr. Boucher: I would go back to what we have said before on this. I think we have had this discussion two or three times in the last few days. The United States has all along tried to work with all the parties in that region to encourage them to deal with each other, to encourage them to act with restraint, to encourage them to take steps to calm the tension. We've always done that; we'll continue to do that. We welcome the meetings that they had earlier this year; we welcome the phone calls of the last few days, which we see as steps designed to do that.

We have also asked the parties in the region to use their influence wherever possible, to deny facilities or to make it more difficult for terrorist groups to operate, and we have asked them to use their influence to try to get groups to refrain from violence and seek political solutions. So that, I assume, would continue to be part of our message.

But as I said, the trip now is focused on the coalition. The trip now is focused on the cooperation and the relationships we have each with each of these countries. To the extent that there are things to discuss as far as their relationship with each other, I'm sure there will be discussions on that point, because that has always been part of our discussion with each of them in the past.

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Question: There have been reports that the United States is not attacking the Taliban forces opposite the Northern Alliance north of Kabul, and that this is part of a strategy of the future of Afghanistan, of bowing to Pakistan and other governments who don't want to see those guys take over, that there's something going on. What does the future of Afghanistan look like to the United States, and is the United States in fact acceding to a Pakistani wish that the Northern Alliance not be allowed to take Kabul?

Mr. Boucher: This is an interesting theory. As far as the US military attacks, you can ask the Pentagon. As far as the future of Afghanistan, I think you can ask a crystal ball. As far as our position, I will repeat what I have said before. We do believe that Afghanistan needs a broad-based government. We have been working for many years with the UN and others on that. We have been keeping in touch with all the various parties. And we have made quite clear that were there to be such a broad-based government in Afghanistan, we would intend to help that government with reconstruction, with developing the country.

Question: Can I just follow up on that? Are you saying that you have no plan for helping in the assistance and the setting up of some sort of government to replace the Taliban?

Mr. Boucher: I just said that we were talking to a lot of parties, encouraging them to organize, to work together to form a broad-based government for Afghanistan, and if there were such a government, we would support it.

Question: Richard, that was an interesting half-slip of the tongue you just made earlier. Does the United States still believe that Pakistan needs a broad-based and elected government?

Mr. Boucher: Our views on democracy in Pakistan haven't changed.

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Question: There have been reports of large loss of life in Afghanistan. What is the United States doing to attempt to minimize the civilian casualties?

Mr. Boucher: I think the first thing to remember is that those reports are unconfirmed and unverified. So it may be difficult to sort out exactly what loss of life there might have been.

Second of all, I would like to say that we have taken every possible step -- and I think the Pentagon will give you more on this -- we have taken every possible step to avoid civilian casualties, to make sure that the US military response is carefully targeted, as the President has said.

Any assertions that we are deliberately targeting civilians are totally baseless. I know there have been all kinds of rumors circulating in Afghanistan, perhaps some of them exaggerated by the Taliban. One was that we dropped food and then bombed people afterwards. That is totally false. One was that the food was somehow poisoned. That is totally false. So there have been a variety of very nasty and very untrue rumors circulated.

Our forces are making every effort to avoid harm to civilians. This is, as we have made clear many, many times, not an attack on the Afghan people. The objective is to end the terrorist threat to the world community. We have no quarrel with the Afghan people; in fact, we have done more than anyone else for the last 20-some years to try to help them, feed them, give them the supplies that they needed, despite a series of problems with government and problems with drought and other things. The fight is not against Islam; the fight is as much for the sake of Islamic peoples of the world and the people of Afghanistan as it is for anyone else.

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Question: On the diplomatic relations thing, is it not true the fact that because Pakistan has diplomatic relations, it makes it somewhat easier for you to get information about the two Americans who are being detained in Kabul? And also -- well, that's one. And two, is there any new information on that?

Mr. Boucher: I don't want to specify a particular mechanism. We have from time to time had information from the Taliban representatives in Islamabad about the status of our detainees. But as you know, we have also talked to their lawyer quite a bit, and that seems to be the most active and up-to-date information that we get.

He met with all of the detainees today for over three hours to go over his response to the indictment. He has told the US Consul General in Islamabad on the phone that the detainees do continue to appear to be well. He met them at the detention center in Kabul. Mr. Ali Kahn also met today with Taliban Supreme Court Justice Saqib, S-a-q-i-b, who informed him that the court will begin to hear the detainees' case on Saturday, October 13th. Other than that, he had no updates on the trial.

The detainees' parents remain in Islamabad, and of course we are in very close touch with them there.

Question: Have your analysts been able to translate the charges yet against the detainees?

Mr. Boucher: I don't have anything new on that. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to give you an analysis of the charges, but I will check.

Question: Have you -- does the State Department now know what the charges are?

Mr. Boucher: I will have to check.

Question: Okay.

Question: Can you say if the parents are going to try to travel to Kabul for the trial?

Mr. Boucher: I don't think I can speak on their behalf. I will have to check on that and see.

Question: Did Mr. Ali Kahn give you any -- did he have any idea or indication of how long the proceeding --

Mr. Boucher: He told us he thinks the court might review the case for two or three additional days before it would render a decision. That's his prediction; the Taliban haven't given us any particular indication of how long it would continue.

Question: I mean, they haven't given you or they haven't given him?

Mr. Boucher: Either one of us.

Question: Is that -- I guess this is probably a question that should be asked of the lawyer himself -- but does he have experience in the Taliban court system? I mean, is that where he is drawing this prediction from, as far as you know?

Mr. Boucher: All I can say is this is the lawyer that the families and the detainees have chosen, and they are relying on him; we're relying on him. I'm not able to give his background.