US Senator John F Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommitttee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs -- that has jurisdiction over policy pertaining to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan -- has called for the resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio, saying that the simmering problem is the rootcause of mistrust between Islamabad and New Delhi, that apparently causes Pakistan's paranoia over even New Delhi's relations with Kabul.
In a major speech delivered at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington,DC, titled 'A Winning Strategy in Afghanistan', the former Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, said, "Pakistan fears India is trying to improve relations with the (Afghan president Hamid) Karzai government at its expense."
Kerry said, "The US and international community efforts to build trust between these two neighbours, including in Kashmir, could go a long way toward relieving Pakistan's need to hedge its bets in Afghanistan. Ultimately, Pakistan must make a strategic decision to support a stable Afghanistan."
The contention among several South Asia analysts both in the US and elsewhere, was that at the time the Pakistani intelligence service ISI conceived of and supported and armed the Taliban, the primary policy goal by Islamabad was to acquire strategic depth vis-à-vis India.
But the Taliban consequently became a monster that the Pakistanis had to turn against in the wake of 9/11 under the US threat of either "you are with us or against us", following Taliban-controlled Afghanistan being used as the base of al Qaeda.
But now with the resurgence of the Taliban, there is concern in intelligence circles that once again certain elements in Pakistan, through some rogue sections of the ISI, are promoting the Taliban to keep the Karzai government on edge, partly owing to the latter's close relations with New Delhi.
Kerry said that there needs to be a recognition that Afghanistan "cannot be fully stabilised unless Pakistan and others fully join the effort", and argued that as long as "the Taliban and al Qaeda have a sanctuary right next door, we've got a problem--and so do the people giving them sanctuary."
He said that 80 percent "of suicide bombers in Afghanistan now originate in Pakistan", and hence said that the US policy should be targeted toward bolstering "efforts to root out extremists in the tribal areas--in part by supporting a 'frontier corps' made up of local tribesmen who know the terrain".
"At the same time," he added, "we should ensure that our $750-million aid package actually reaches the people we seek to influence. As we seek to spread economic opportunity, we should push the Pakistani government to do the same and also integrate these areas into national political life."
Kerry made these remarks even as his colleague in the Foreign Relations Committee Senator Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat--who has already written to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raising concerns following a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Pakistan was diverting much of this aid to fight the war on terror to purchase sophisticated weaponry, including F-16 fighter aircraft and anti-ship Harpoon missiles to be used in a conventional war with India--had
scheduled a hearing on US aid to Pakistan to explore these assertions, with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher in the hot seat.
According to Kerry, Pakistan had to be part of a regional dialogue designed to help stabilise Afghanistan. "It is no secret that real tensions exist between Presidents (Pervez) Musharraf and Karzai."
"We have to redouble our efforts to bring about cooperation between these two governments," he said, and asserted that "you can't have a free flow of extremists along their wide-open border".
Kerry said "this cooperation must be one of the central tasks of our diplomacy today", and declared that "both Pakistan and Afghanistan's futures depend on it."
In this regard, the lawmaker argued that "ultimately, a Pakistan headed down the path of civilian democracy is best equipped to deal with extremism," and said, "it is in our vital security interest to help foster a government with the strength and legitimacy to fight terror."
Kerry said, "Now that Musharraf has taken off his uniform, we must push him to lift the state of emergency, restore the rule of law and judicial independence, free all political prisoners, and hold verifiably free and fair elections consistent with the Constitution."
He said this was the reason, he and Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had introduced legislation that calls for the suspension of US aid for strategic weapons systems to Pakistan that are not directly tied to counterterrism, "if Musharraf does not follow through on his promise to take these critical steps toward civilian democracy."
"We need to look at how the billions of dollars we provide to Pakistan can most effectively advance our interests," he said. "Our massive Coalition Support Funds should be reviewed to ensure accountability and transparency."
He bemoaned that "at the same time, less than 10 percent of our aid goes to development and humanitarian assistance," and called for targeting "more of our aid to projects that directly help the Pakistani people."
Earlier in his remarks, Kerry making no bones about the contention in Congressional and intelligence circles that Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism, declared that the mission in Afghanistan to root out terrorism and stabilize that country is paramount, because it is, "right next door to a sanctuary for al Qaeda and to the crisis of Pakistan," and remains "as it always was, the true frontline of the struggle against terrorism."
"I don't need to remind you what's at stake," he warned. "The very same people that attacked us on 9/11 are still there, right where we left them," and recalled that "our nation's own National Intelligence Estimate warned us this July that the Taliban and al Qaeda have reconstituted themselves on the Afghan-Pakistan border and are planning more attacks on our homeland."