Peace With India Is Top Priority, Says Ambassador of Pakistan Qazi by Larry Luxner Pakistan has its share of serious problems, ranging from ethnic tensions and malnutrition to drug trafficking and Islamic extremism. But between now and April 17, Pakistanís 145 million people will be glued to their radios and televisions as they follow a history-making series of cricket matches against archrival India. Both sides hope the five-week Indian tour will speed up a rapprochement between the two nuclear-armed nations, which resumed full diplomatic relations less than four months ago, after having downgraded those relations in 2002 following an outbreak of violence over the disputed Kashmir region. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi was Pakistanís envoy to India at the time. As the two impoverished countries moved once again to the brink of war, recalled Qazi, he suddenly found himself persona non grata in New Delhi. ìOnce I was kicked out of India, I became superfluous and redundant,î said Qazi, ìbut President [Pervez] Musharraf was kind enough to call me back into service.î Musharraf sent the seasoned diplomat to Washington, where he has represented Pakistanís interests in the United States since September 2002. ìWashington is a capital with a difference,î the ambassador said. ìItís so much more hectic and busy than any other capital, even Delhi. Between the White House, National Security Council, State Department, the Hill, think tanks and the media, thereís so much to keep you busy.î Qazi spoke to The Washington Diplomat at Pakistanís gleaming new $17 million embassy, which was inaugurated exactly a year ago and covers four floors and houses 100 staffers. The 62-year-old Qaziówho has also served as Pakistanís ambassador to China, Russia, East Germany and Syriaósaid his country is ìgoing through an upward phaseî in its complex relationship with India. ìIn January, Indiaís prime minister [Atal Bihari Vajpayee] came to Pakistan and met with our president and prime minister. A joint statement was issued, which broke the ice between the two countries and set the scene for a resumption of the dialogue,î said Qazi. ìWeíre looking forward to delineating a road map for a peace process, which would include normalization of relations and a settlement of the Kashmir issue.î Such a settlement would come none too soon for the region. Since 1989, more than 65,000 people have died in a Muslim uprising in divided Kashmir, 12 million of whose 15 million inhabitants profess Islam. India accuses Pakistan of fomenting the violence; Pakistan labels the rebellion a ìlegitimate freedom struggleî but denies aiding the rebels. The countries fought two of their three wars over Kashmir and came dangerously close to a fourth in 2002. Since then, however, New Delhi and Islamabad have engaged in confidence-building measures such as reopening air, rail and road links, and finally restoring full diplomatic relations in December 2003. The Indian cricket touróthe first in more than 14 yearsóis the latest sign yet of thawing ties. ìKashmir is the core issue between our two countries. Our policy is to support the rights of the Kashmiri people. If they choose us, weíd be more than pleased. But if they donít, thatís their right,î Qazi said. ìWe support their right to choose, which was guaranteed as far back as 1948 by U.N. resolutions that were accepted by India.î Both countries have tested nuclear weapons, leading many experts to warn that South Asiaís arms race could spin out of control. Following nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, the Clinton administration imposed a U.S. ban on weapons sales to the archenemies. But the ban was lifted in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Afghanistan. Last month, India announced that it was purchasing three advanced Phalcon early-warning spy planes from Israel, prompting Pakistani criticism that the $1.1 billion deal would violate the strategic balance in South Asia. India has also acquired weapons from Russia. Pakistan, on the other hand, has traditionally sourced its weaponry from China and France. ìWe want to engage India on issues of restraint, so that we can avoid an arms race and strike some kind of proportional balance,î said Qazi. ìBut India hasnít responded to that. Theyíre not terribly interested in discussing issues of restraint.î When it comes to nuclear proliferation, however, Pakistan is not exactly blameless. According to the New York Times, a classified intelligence report presented to the White House in early March detailed for the first time the extent to which Pakistanís Khan Research Laboratories provided North Korea with all of the equipment and technology it needed to produce uranium-based nuclear bombs. The CIA assessment confirmed the Bush administrationís fears about North Koreaís secret uranium weapons program, which some intelligence officials believe could produce a weapon as early as some time next year. It is based partly on Pakistanís accounts of its interrogations of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the developer of Pakistanís so-called ìIslamic bomb.î In the top-secret report, Khanís transactions with North Korea trace back to the early 1990s, when Benazir Bhutto was Pakistanís prime minister and the clandestine relationship between the two countries is portrayed as rapidly accelerating between 1998 and 2002. The report concluded that North Korea probably received a package very similar to the kind that the Khan network sold to Libya for more than $60 million, which included nuclear fuel, centrifuges and one or more warhead designs. Many of these components, the report suggested, were transported to Pyongyang on Pakistani military cargo planes, indicating possible government involvement at the highest levels. But Qazi vigorously denies this. ìPakistan itself has not engaged in any kind of proliferation activities,î he insisted. ìWe were surprised and saddened to learn that Mr. Kahn had abused the trust that had been given him as a result of his role in enabling Pakistan to acquire nuclear weapons capability. This came as an embarrassment and a setback, but the government itself had nothing to do with this.î Asked why Musharraf pardoned Khan rather than send him to prison for his crimes, Qazi had this to say: ìThe pardon was granted only on the condition that he reveal all the information he had and also to reveal information with respect to anything he might not have included in his confessions. Otherwise, we wouldnít be able to get the information we need from him. ìItís like a plea bargain,î the ambassador continued. ìHe committed a number of illegal acts and sought a pardon after having confessed his crimes. He is required to cooperate with us, and we have shared whatever information we have with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency].î Qazi takes the position that Pakistan is a victimórather than a beneficiaryóof Khanís dubious deals. ìI think he did considerable damage to Pakistanís reputation. The articles you see in the media are a consequence of his unfortunate activities,î he said. ìIf any good has come out of this thing, itís that this network has now been disrupted.î Interestingly, the Bush administration hasnít publicly criticized the Pakistani governmentís denials of involvement or Musharrafís decision to pardon Khanómainly because the White House needs Musharrafís help in finding Osama bin Laden. ìIf [U.S.-Pakistani] relations hadnít been so good, this issue could have put a major strain on us,î said Qazi. ìBut because of our cooperation in the war on terror, our role in ensuring thereís been no recurrence of 9/11, our improvement of relations with India and [Washingtonís] esteem for President Musharraf, I think weíve managed to overcome this unfortunate revelation.î Musharrafís cooperation with Bush has also earned him plenty of enemies at home. The army general has been the target of several attempts on his lifeóthe most recent being last December, when a remote-controlled bomb destroyed a bridge in Rawalpindi just seconds after Musharrafís motorcade had crossed over it. ìA lot of guys are on the run, reduced to desperation, and they see him as a major obstacle to the realization of their aims,î Qazi said of his boss. ìHe has taken bold and risky decisions, which have resulted in these assassination attempts on him.î Indeed, Musharrafówho seized power in an October 1999 coupóhas infuriated Islamic extremists by backing the U.S.-led ouster of Afghanistanís Taliban, outlawing 13 Islamic militant organizations, and pursuing peace talks with India. Musharrafís forces have also been fighting Isla mic militants along the Pakistani borderóincluding a six-day battle in late Marchóand one of Pakistanís foreign policy priorities, said Qazi, is to see stability return to neighboring Afghanistan, which shares a 1,500-mile border with Pakistan. ìThey need a broad-based government which is stable and legitimate,î he said, adding that Afghan President Hamid Karzaiís position is ìgradually stabilizing, and his authority will gradually begin to spread throughout the country. All the ethnic groups need to have a sense of participation.î Qazi himself comes from Pishin, a small town near Quetta. An ethnic Pashtun, he speaks many languages besides English, including Urdu, Punjabi, Farsi and Arabic. ìThe largest ethnic group in Afghanistan are the Pashtun, and we have twice as many Pashtun as Afghanistan,î he said. ìI speak not only the same language as Mr. Karzai, but also the same dialect.î Domestically, Qazi said Pakistanís biggest problem is its rapidly growing population. Half of the countryís 145 million people are illiterate, and per-capita income stands at less than $2,000 a year. ìOur annual growth rate has dropped from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent, but weíve got to get it well below 2 percent. In any projection, there are various scenarios. We want the low-growth scenario, which will allow our population to eventually stabilize around the 200 million mark.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.