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Obama will want ISI under civilian control: Kerry

Obama will want ISI under civilian control: Kerry

Author: Pranab Dhal Samanta
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 15, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/obama-will-want-isi-under-civilian-control-kerry-in-delhi/398550/

With barely a month left for US President-elect Barack Obama to officially enter White House, influential Democrat Senator and likely next head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry made it clear that the Obama Administration will ask the Pakistan Government to bring the ISI firmly under civilian control.

When it was pointed out that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had to roll back an earlier decision to place the ISI under the Interior Minister, Kerry said this was a "young government" but was well intentioned and would make the change in the days ahead. The issue is being linked with the aid package being worked out for Pakistan.

Kerry, who hopes to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow, will be briefing Obama once he returns from his trip that includes a stopover in Islamabad where he will hold talks with Zardari. In many ways, sources said, he is here on behalf of Obama to obtain a feedback on how India wants the next course of action to play out. He clarified that Obama was not looking for an envoy for Kashmir though he was focused on the region as a whole.

During a select media interaction today, Kerry said one of the first priorities of the Obama Administration would be to finalise an aid package for Pakistan and his intention was to discuss the structure of this package also with India during his meetings tomorrow. A proposal for a $15-billion aid package has been in the works.

"A portion of that aid will be military. But I am looking forward to talk to Prime Minister Singh and later President Zardari on how this package should be structured. For one, we would like to see an ISI that is reforming and brought completely under civilian control. The military, I think, has done relatively well... we hope they continue to remain more aggressive in the western parts of Pakistan. With General Kayani there, I think we are building a strong foundation," said Kerry.

Kerry did not dispute the fact that Lashkar-e-Toiba was indeed set up by the ISI with the blessings of the Pakistani establishment in the past but felt that the new government is keen to sever these links as it is a threat for them too.

"They formed it and they know they formed it. But they didn't know that the LeT would graduate into an enterprise of its own. Let me also make it clear that I don't think there is any evidence that these attacks (Mumbai) link up with this establishment or for that matter even the ISI, unless at some lower levels."

According to him, the zardari government is the hope for both India and US. "It is a democratically elected government. I was there as an observer and I know it was a truly democratic election... So, we have to empower them. They (civilian government) understand that this insurgency is also a threat to them, it is in a way existential for them too," said Kerry.

In trying to explain what approach an Obama Administration is likely to follow, Kerry said the entire effort of the Bush Adminstration in Afghanistan and Pakistan was "Musharraf-centric". It was, in fact, a Democrat move in the Senate that triggered the process of change in Pakistan and he was positive that Obama would build on a "Pakistan people-centric" approach.

In that context, Kerry argued that Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is playing a very positive role so far. "The Army is a strong institution in Pakistan and I think Gen Kayani is very thoughtful of what needs to be done and so is the new ISI head Lt Gen Shuja Pasha. The new government is well-intentioned in acting against the Taliban in FATA and the North-West and which is one of the reasons why groups like LeT are kicking back."

He also went on to laud India for its "responsible approach" after the Mumbai attacks and said the US was "grateful" at the way India has executed this approach so far in what is still a "sensitive situation". Kerry added that President-elect Obama was aware of the facts and would engage in some "robust diplomacy" focusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan in his war against terror.

"The Pakistan government has to convincingly separate itself from the LeT. There is no capacity to tolerate the intolerable. President-elect Obama will be tough on that. Anyone expecting a diversion is wrong," he said.


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