DATE=3/7/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON-PAKISTAN (L)
NUMBER=2-259943
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton will visit Pakistan March
25th at the close of the upcoming South Asian trip that
will also take him to India and Bangladesh. There had
been debate in Washington over the advisability of a
Pakistan stop because of the military takeover in
Islamabad last October. V-O-A's David Gollust reports
from the White House.
TEXT: Administration officials say Mr. Clinton's
decision to go to Pakistan should not be seen as U-S
acquiescence to military rule in that country, and
that during several hours of talks in Islamabad the
president will urge a return to democracy as well as
efforts by Pakistan to combat anti-U-S terrorism in
neighboring Afghanistan.
The announcement of the visit, in a written White
House statement, capped a lengthy and apparently
difficult debate in Washington over whether to add
Pakistan to the President's itinerary.
Relations have been chilled by the military takeover,
and the subsequent trial of ousted civilian Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom Mr. Clinton had met
in Washington last July for talks on Kashmir.
Senior officials who briefed reporters here said the
decision to go is not an endorsement of General Pervez
Musharraf but rather a statement of continued
engagement with Pakistan. Not to have made the visit,
they said would have "disheartened" pro-democracy
forces in Pakistan, and given the wrong signal that
the United States was turning its back on a friend
after years of close relations.
The officials said there was no "checklist" of actions
expected of Pakistan in return for the visit, but they
none-the-less said they looked to General Musharraf -
in an address to the nation March 23rd - to be more
specific about plans for a restoration of civilian
rule.
And they said the military chief would go to the
southern Afgan town of Kandahar soon to -- among other
things -- press the leader of the Taleban movement to
crack down on the militant group led by alleged
terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
President Clinton originally was to have made the
South Asia trip in 1998, but it was put off after
India, and then Pakistan, carried out nuclear weapons
tests.
The senior officials said tensions between the two
South Asian powers today are higher than at anytime
since their last war in 1971, and that Mr. Clinton has
a responsibility to do what he can to avoid a nuclear
and missile arms race and prevent a conflict in the
region.
They added, however, that Mr. Clinton does not intend
to try to mediate over Kashmir - a role India strongly
opposes.
The announcement here was preceded by a telephone call
by Mr. Clinton to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who is said to have expressed understanding
for the President's decision. Clinton National
Security Adviser Sandy Berger had a parallel
conversation with General Musharraf. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/gm
07-Mar-2000 18:56 PM EDT (07-Mar-2000 2356 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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