Author: Agencies
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 4, 2008
Washington Losing Faith with Pakistan Government's
Ability To Stop Expansion Of Qaida In The Region
In a virtual indictment of ISI's involvement
in the bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, the US on Sunday asked Pakistan
to get its intelligence network to work towards tackling terrorism that is
affecting its neighbourhood.
"Pakistan needs to get everybody lined
up in the same direction if they are really going to tackle the terrorist
problem," US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher, who is here
as an observer at the SAARC summit, told reporters.
His statement came after US officials vindicated
Indian claim of Pakistan's ISI's role in the suicide bombing on the Indian
Embassy in Kabul last month.
Boucher, who met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, welcomed his assurance to
India to probe the Kabul attack.
"Our view is that it is important to
have a good intelligence service in Pakistan, but it is also important for
that intelligence service to work single-mindedly with other institutions
to tackle the terrorist issue that affects so many people in Pakistan and
its neighbourhood," he said.
Meanwhile, Newsweek reported on Sunday that
Washington was "losing faith" that Pakistan's new government could
stop the expansion of Al Qaida-linked terrorism in that country's tribal regions.
Quoting an unidentified US official, the magazine
reported that a "rookie move" by Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chief
Asif Ali Zardari to wrest control of the powerful ISI has backfired, resulting
in Washington loosing faith in Islamabad's ability to fight terror.
In a manoeuvre attributed to Zardari, Newsweek
said, the government tried to wrest control of ISI by placing it under the
control of Rehman Malik, a Zardari associate who is de facto interior minister.
That was a "rookie move" that backfired,
the magazine said quoting the official. The move happened just as prime minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani left for Washington to meet President Bush. Before making
its move against the ISI, US and Pakistani officials were quoted as saying,
the government failed to consult with some top military brass, including President
Musharraf.
The report quoted another senior Pakistani
government official as blaming the fumble on Malik, saying he "misworded"
the announcement to make it seem as if the interior ministry was taking over
the entire ISI, when in fact it is only seeking control of "domestic
operations."
