Title: Clinton's message
to Pakistan: Inderfurth briefs Indian officials
Author:
Publication: Dawn, Karachi
Date: March 29, 2000
WASHINGTON, March 28:
The US has officially briefed India on the "tough message" delivered to
Pakistan by President Clinton during his brief stopover in Islamabad.
Assistant Secretary of
State Karl Inderfurth flew to New Delhi from Islamabad, shortly after the
president's departure, to brief Indian national security adviser Brijesh
Mishra, and met him on Sunday.
Inderfurth also met Indian
Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh and senior officials in the ministry of
external affairs for an extensive session.
According to Indian officials
who later briefed journalists, Inderfurth told them that the message delivered
to Pakistan by President Clinton privately in the talks was much harder
than his address to the people of Pakistan.
The officials said that
while India was happy with the unambiguous and consistent message that
was conveyed by Clinton to General Musharraf, they had no expectation that
Pakistan would quickly fall in line and end its cross-border terrorism.
Inderfurth told the Indian
officials that the president had clearly indicated to Musharraf that after
Kargil, "it was up to Pakistan to make the first move in restoring trust
between Islamabad and New Delhi."
In response to US demands
to end violence, Gen Musharraf had apparently insisted that the steps towards
that goal had to be "reciprocal, but the US apparently rejected this idea."
The Indian officials
said that, according to their assessment, as well as the assessment of
US officials, it would be a while before the Pakistani establishment began
to digest the bitter medicine administered by Clinton.
They said neither side
expected any formal announcements from Islamabad that it was ready to abjure
its use of force across the Line of Control.
"But if Gen Musharraf
does indeed move seriously in that direction, New Delhi and Washington
would want to assess the hard evidence on the ground. India and the US
are likely to discuss further steps only after coming to a judgment in
the coming weeks on the course Islamabad has chosen to adopt," the officials
said.
Brajesh Mishra later
told an Indian news agency that India was not asking for third party mediation
on Kashmir when Clinton was asked to tell Pakistan to stop cross-border
terrorism. "It does not amount to mediation and there is no question of
mediation," Mishra said when asked to comment on the prime minister asking
Clinton to tell Pakistan to stop terrorism.
" When foreign dignitaries
come and tell us to exercise restraint and resume dialogue with Pakistan,
we tell them why should you tell us to do that. We had exercised restraint
in Kargil... You should go and tell them (Pakistan) to show restraint,"
Mishra was quoted as saying.
India, Mishra said, had
made it clear that it was not willing to resume dialogue as long as cross-border
terrorism continued.
Asked whether India expected
any tangible result out of Clinton's tough talking to Pakistan on terrorism,
he said: "We hope so. But on the basis of reports so far, Pakistan has
not given any assurance to Mr Clinton to that effect."