Encourage rapprochement between India and Pak, says a report

Arguing that Pakistan, not Afghanistan should be the centre of the policy of Obama
administration in its war against terrorism, an eminent think-tank has asked the United States to "encourage rapprochement" between India and its neighbour.

"Encourage rapprochement between India and Pakistan through quiet overtures and reiterate Washington's longstanding commitment to support or facilitate when and if
necessary," an eminent expert on South Asia, Daniel Markey of Council on Foreign relations (CFR) said his report on the new Af-Pak policy of the Obama administration.

Markey came out with a 17-page report yesterday which includes a set of long-term recommendations besides a series of short-term ones.

"The US also need to engage in a dialogue with top Pakistani military and civilian leaders about prospects and avenues for normalizing the nuclear program in ways that are not perceived to threaten Pakistan's security with respect to India," Markey said.

The report asks the US administration to "quietly encourage India's new Government (after the elections) to reinvigorate dialogue" with Pakistan, besides regularising the
Pakistan-Afghanistan-US trilateral summits and raising Pak-Afghan on the top of the Washington's diplomatic agenda.

"Facilitate early interactions if necessary," the report says.

Markey has recommended that the Obama Administration should follow through on existing assistance commitments to the Pakistani military, including the F-16 program, as a means to retain the confidence of officers who have bought into partnership with the US.

He also cautioned the US not to impose too much condition on giving aid to Pakistan in lieu of its fight against terrorism. Being critical of new policy being too much centric on
Afghanistan, the report argued that it is Pakistan which needs to be the focal point of attention of the US.

"To preclude ambiguity and build sustainable domestic support for its agenda, the Obama administration should clarify that it will pursue sustained, comprehensive
engagement in South Asia, with a heavy emphasis on improving cooperation with Pakistan through intense interaction and assistance, because this strategy offers the best prospect for long-term American security and regional stability," it said.

Observing that since 9/11, the US has lurched from crisis to crisis in South Asia, putting out fires without investing in the future, the report said: "The time has come to readjust the balance, to recognize that entrenched threats of this sort demand enduring and costly US investments, and to commit forthrightly to meeting the daunting challenge in
Pakistan and Afghanistan."