25 July 2007
Pakistan "Indispensable" in Global Anti-Terrorism Fight
State's Burns urges elevated Pakistani effort against terrorists
Washington -– Despite impressive achievements fighting terrorism, Pakistan still needs to do more to defeat terrorist forces on its soil, says R. Nicholas Burns, the State Department’s under secretary of state for political affairs.
In his prepared congressional testimony July 25, Burns said Pakistan’s success fighting al-Qaida and the Taliban is indispensable to the global effort to defeat radical Islamic terrorist groups in South Asia and worldwide.
Burns told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Pakistan’s future is key to stability in South Asia, which Burns said had become a region of “singular importance” to U.S. foreign policy since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.
The official said he could “think of nothing more important” to the U.S.-Pakistani relationship than continued U.S. attention, commitment and engagement with Pakistan.
Pakistanis, Burns said, should be assured the United States will remain a good and reliable friend. But as a good friend, said Burns, the United States will speak frankly and sometimes disagree with Pakistan on “vital issues such as the best way to defeat terrorist groups and the right way to build a democratic state.”
In outlining Pakistan’s effort against terrorists, Burns said that since 2001, the government of President Pervez Musharraf has killed or captured more al-Qaida operatives than did any other country in the world. However, he added, Pakistan’s tribal regions of north and south Waziristan have become “safe havens for violent extremist and terrorist activity.” Burns said not enough is being done to bring to justice top al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in the tribal regions.
“Long-term denial of these areas to terrorists will require local cooperation, and Pakistan will have to find a more effective and successful way to do so,” Burns said.
Recent reports of al-Qaida activity in those regions, said Burns, underscore the need for Pakistan to “elevate its efforts to fight this enemy.” (See related article.)
U.S. assistance to Pakistan has strengthened significantly the country’s capability to combat extremist forces, Burns said. The aid comes in two forms: security assistance to fight terrorists and bilateral aid in such areas as governance and economic reform aimed at creating an environment inhospitable to terrorists and violent extremists.
PROGRESS ON COUNTERTERRORISM, COUNTERPROLIFERATION
Burns said Pakistan’s Musharraf shares with the United States recognition that terrorism and other forms of violent extremism cannot be countered by military means alone. To this end, he said, the United States has provided Pakistan in 2007 with $843 million in economic and security assistance, making Pakistan the fifth-largest recipient worldwide of U.S. aid. U.S. development assistance is tailored to build sustainable growth, improve living standards and promote “good governance, responsible citizenship, and foreign investment,” Burns said.
He also said the United States welcomes Musharraf’s commitment that Pakistan will take a leading role in international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related technology and expertise.
The United States, he said, remains engaged with Pakistan on a full range of nonproliferation and counterproliferation issues because “they remain vital to U.S and global interests” and key to preventing the emergence of a “shadow proliferation network.” Burns was referring to a network led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, which sold nuclear technology and know-how to rogue regimes around the world, such as Iran and North Korea.
Burns said Khan “did enormous damage to international efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear technology,” and the Pakistani government has “direct responsibility to help us undo that damage and ensure it does not happen again.” (See related article.)
FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN PAKISTAN
Burns said the United States is providing technical advice and assistance for scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections in Pakistan in 2008. Musharraf, Pakistan’s military ruler, has pledged to hold free and fair elections that will allow Pakistan’s citizens to choose their leaders through a civilian-led democratic government, Burns said.
Burns indicated that the fairness of Pakistan’s election will be judged on whether political parties that win the majority of votes are allowed to form a democratic government that reflects the will of the Pakistani electorate.
Burns said the United States seeks for Pakistan a “transformation into a more stable, open, and secure nation where its people can, in the future, live peacefully.”
The full text of Burns’ prepared testimony is available on the State Department Web site.
See also “New Players on the Scene: A.Q. Khan and the Nuclear Black Market” in the e-Journal Today's Nuclear Equation.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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