Mulford allays Indian fears over Pak status

The US today tried to dispel India's concerns over its decision to accord Pakistan the status of a "major non-NATO ally", saying this was aimed at facilitating cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

"US Secretary of State Colin Powell has indicated that this decision will facilitate cooperation between the US and Pakistan in the war against terrorism. This is also an objective that India shares," David Mulford, the new US ambassador to India, said at his first public lecture, which was hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Powell's announcement in Islamabad had provoked a sharp reaction from New Delhi which said it was disappointing that he did not share with the Indian government, Washington's decision while he was here.

India also stated that the US decision had "significant implications" for Indo-US relations.

Mulford tried to redress India's disappointment in his speech today.

"The US will continue to build strong bilateral relationships with India and Pakistan. Each of these relationships stands on its own merits," he stressed. Asked about the US recognising that India merits permanent membership in an enlarged UN Security Council, he said: "These issues take a long time to develop and are under regular review."

Mulford said the Vajpayee-Musharraf peace initiative "as well as a series of Indo-Pak confidence building measures, are reasons for optimism, and the US strongly supports these important steps."

On Indo-US relations, Mulford said progress had been made in the strategic partnership initiative involving cooperation on civilian nuclear issues, peaceful use of space technology and high technology commerce, besides expanding dialogue on missile defence.

"These areas of cooperation are very complex, requiring attention to detail and patience to create the framework which will ensure that we meet our shared objectives," he observed.

Emphasising on the importance for evolving a "comprehensive" bilateral relationship, he spoke of greater involvement of the private sector in this endeavour.

"Barriers need to be removed and disincentives cleared away, so that we strengthen the strategic partnership that now exists between the world's two largest democracies," he said.

He said the "good news" was that India had brought economic growth and development to the top of its priorities.

"The current election may well demonstrate that in this great democracy, there is indeed a political consensus that strong growth sustained over a long period will advance the prosperity of India's people, reduce overall levels of poverty, integrate India more fully into the global economy, and transform India's power status in the world."

Realising this objective, however, would not happen without new generations of reforms and continuous efforts that restructure and open India's economy to the global economy at large, he said.