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Wednesday, June 09, 2010
India backs US aid plan for Pakistan: official* Robert Blake says US has sought Pakistan’s assurances that weapons provided won’t be used against India
WASHINGTON: India has voiced understanding for the giant US aid plan for its historic rival Pakistan despite earlier security fears, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
“They believe we have a shared interest in helping to stabilise Pakistan,” said Robert Blake, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia.
“They’re certainly well aware that a spiral-down will not be in India’s interests,” he told a State Department blog forum, according to AFP. The US last year approved a five-year $7.5 billion plan to build the economy and democratic institutions in Pakistan, hoping to dent the appeal of extremists in the country.
Blake acknowledged that India had been less enthusiastic over US military support to Pakistan than the economic aid, but said, “I think they understand that we are trying to build up Pakistan’s counter-insurgency capabilities”.
Guarantees: Blake said the US had sought Pakistan’s “assurances that the weapons that are provided will not be used against India”. The US welcomed what it saw as a deepening commitment by Islamabad to fight homegrown militants in its lawless northwestern area bordering Afghanistan. But US officials have pressed Pakistan also to act against anti-Indian groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, blamed for the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai.
Momentum: Separately, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Public Affairs Philip J Crowley said the US wanted Pakistan and India to continue their recent momentum towards restoring a comprehensive dialogue for improvement in relations, according to APP.
Speaking in the backdrop of last week’s US-India strategic dialogue, Crowley reaffirmed Washington’s policy to forge close relationships with both Pakistan and India.
But, Crowley argued, Washington’s pursuing relationships with each of the South Asian regional powers is not a zero-sum proposition. Although, Pakistan-India relations were part of strategic discussions between the top US and Indian diplomats last week, Crowley did not see a triangle in terms of US-Pakistan-India ties equation. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk