Tension with India disturbing Pak's focus on war on terror: US

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 22 (PTI) The "deep historic distrust"
between India and Pakistan was coming in the way of Islamabad
focussing on war against terror, a top Obama Administration
official has said and sought reduction in tension between the
neighbours.

"The only way that you are going to give the Pakistani
government and armed forces the confidence to shift their
focus is to address some of those areas of tension to try to
reduce tension between the countries," Under Secretary of
Defence for Policy, Michele A Flournoy, said at the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based
think-tank.

She also called for developing confidence-building
measures between the two countries "to allow the sort of
breathing space that would allow the folks on the Pakistani
side to turn their attention to some of the internal
challenges they face."

The "deep historic distrust" between India and Pakistan,
was coming in the way of the latter focusing on fighting the
war against terrorism, she insisted while speaking about the
Obama Administration's new Afghan-Pak policy.

Flournoy, who co-chaired Afghanistan-Pakistan
inter-agency policy review with US special envoy for the
region Richard Holbrooke and former CIA official Bruce Riedel,
was at the CSIS before joining the Obama Administration.

Flournoy said the implementation of the new strategy
requires mobilising not only domestic support, but also
greater international political support.

"The administration has been fanning out to NATO, to The
Hague for a donors conference, to the European Union, to the
region, to China, to the Middle East and beyond, where we're
seeking to ask each of our partners to do what they can to
join with us in turning this around and reaching our common
goal," she said.

It is important to recognise that this is not just
America's war, but it is also that of the international
community, Flournoy said.

"Defeating Al-Qaeda, its extremist allies is a goal and a
responsibility that all of us share. We also know that, as we
go forward with implementing this strategy, we have to develop
ways to measure progress and to hold ourselves and our
partners accountable," she said.

"It also means doing everything that we can to shore up a
capable UN in Afghanistan and in the region. The UN is going
to play a critical leadership and coordinating role on the
assistance side, and we need to do everything in our power to
help make them successful," she said.