12 February 2002

Pakistan is a Key Player in Operation Enduring Freedom

Speaking to foreign journalists on February 12, one day before President Bush holds bilateral talks with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, a senior administration official said Pakistan has been "a key and critical player in Operation Enduring Freedom." The administration official was speaking at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.

The official added that the United States would now like to see Pakistani and Indian military forces in Kashmir, "particularly strike forces," scaled back to reduce the chances of triggering an accidental war.

Bush policy advisors believe there has been a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan since the December 13 attack on the Indian parliament prompted both nations to put their armed forces on high alert and prepare civil emergency plans. President Bush and his foreign affairs advisors have been working daily to reduce tensions between the two South Asian nuclear rivals.

The briefer emphasized that India's and Pakistan's leaders have also been working to ease tensions. "Both India and Pakistan's leaders are statesman who want to avoid war. They understand the need for peace and stability to develop economically," according to the U.S. official.

Asked about Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden's call in the February 11 issue of "India Abroad" for the administration to play a more pro-active role in seeking a solution to the Kashmir dispute, the U.S. official said the administration was not looking to mediate but to rather "to assist" both India and Pakistan in exploring solutions to the 55-year old territorial dispute between them, "if both parties seek" U.S. involvement.

"We do seek a reduction in tensions," the official told reporters. "We do not want tensions to detract from 'Enduring Freedom' (the U.S.-led military campaign against the al Qaeda terrorists and the Taliban)," he said.

President Bush has praised President Musharraf for taking a tough stand against terrorism "in or from Pakistan."

The two leaders are expected to discuss the full range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including educational improvement, economic assistance, military relations, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, narcotics assistance and interdiction, and health issues.

During his three-day official visit to Washington, President Musharraf will hold separate meetings with several key cabinet members including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans.