DATE=3/9/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON - PAKISTAN (L)
NUMBER=2-260030
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton says his decision to visit
Pakistan at the close of his South Asian trip later
this month should not be seen an endorsement of the
military government that took power in Islamabad last
October. The president will meet Pakistani officials
during a brief stop in Islamabad March 25th after
visits to India and Bangladesh. V-O-A's David Gollust
reports from the White House.
TEXT: The decision to make the stop in Islamabad is
controversial and was made more so by Pakistani
military leader General Pervez Musharraf's suggestion
Wednesday that it, in his words "vindicates the
legitimacy" of his government's policies.
But in a talk with reporters here, Mr. Clinton said it
is not an endorsement of the Pakistani coup or
military rule, and it would be a "grave mistake" for
anyone to consider it as such.
Rather, he said, it is an acknowledgement that keeping
open lines of contact with Pakistan offers the best
prospect of positive change there:
/// CLINTON ACTUALITY ///
It is a recognition, in my judgment, that
America's interests and values will be advanced
if we maintain some contact with, and
communications with, the Pakistani government.
And I think that our ability to have a positive
influence on the future direction of Pakistan in
terms of the restoration of democracy, in terms
of the ultimate resolution of issues in the
Indian subcontinent, and in terms of avoiding
further dangerous conflicts, will be greater if
we maintain our cooperation.
/// END ACT///
Mr. Clinton said Pakistan was a U-S ally throughout
the Cold War and that "on more than one occasion"
during his presidency, Pakistani authorities have
helped the United States arrest terrorist suspects
despite the attendant risks to the regime there.
The president also noted ousted civilian Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision - at a Washington
meeting with him last July - to pull Pakistani forces
back from the line of confrontation in Kashmir and
defuse a serious crisis with India.
The decision to add the Islamabad stop to the Clinton
itinerary followed a lengthy debate within the
Administration about its advisability.
Mr. Clinton will spend only a few hours in Pakistan -
in marked contrast to the preceding high profile,
five-day, five-city visit to India.
U-S officials say the president will press General
Musharraf to restore constitutional rule and to crack
down on terrorist groups - including prevailing upon
the Taleban authorities in neighboring Afghanistan to
shut down training camps of the group led by Saudi
extremist Osama Bin Laden. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/ENE/gm
09-Mar-2000 14:17 PM EDT (09-Mar-2000 1917 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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