ADDRESS TO PAKISTANI AMERICAN CONGRESS

BY CHRISTINA ROCCA

U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SOUTH ASIAN AFFAIRS

Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Ninth Annual Pakistan Day on Capitol Hill

Washington, DC

Thank you for inviting me to speak, this morning about relations between the United States and Pakistan. I know that this is an important issue to your organization, a major representative of the Pakistani-American community and a strong advocate of a close relationship between our two countries.

I would also like to recognize the efforts of your community to promote an ongoing exchange in both government and the private sector on relations between the United States and Pakistan. There is no doubt that this is a two way street. Nearly two million people of South Asian origin live in the United States. South Asians in the United States have helped fuel our information technology boom, and have taken their successes back home to nurture companies with worldwide influence. South Asians have made contributions beyond their numbers in academia, the sciences, medicine and the arts. Organizations like yours help channel the energy of Pakistani-Americans. You are making yourselves felt, and I hope this Administration will continue to receive your support and advice for U.S. policies in South Asia.

The United States' friendship with Pakistan extends back over a half a century. We have weathered major crises together and overcome serious differences. As I said in my confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, I believe firmly that our relationship must be sustained and enhanced. This will be one of my main objectives as Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs. Those of us who are part of the Bush Administration intend to work with the Government of Pakistan, with the Congress and with organizations of concerned Americans like yours to achieve that goal.

Pakistan occupies a central place at the crossroads of Asia. It is a country whose heritage blends Islam and South Asia and bridges China to the Northeast and the Persian Gulf to the Southwest. It is undergoing significant change -- demographic, social, political and economic -- which has stressed its political makeup and strained its economy. Long-standing disputes have also caused successive Pakistani leaders to make hard choices about national priorities.

As Pakistan deals with these challenges, the United States is mindful of our long and close association. It is very much in the interest of the U.S. for Pakistan to be stable, secure, prosperous and democratic and it is our intention, as we move forward with our policy reviews, to do what we can to support Pakistan as it moves in this direction. It is also clear that we need to follow a course of greater engagement to promote our mutual goals: improved regional stability, a resumption of broad-based economic growth and the return and strengthening of democratic institutions in Pakistan. These are fundamental principles of American policy worldwide and they will be the principles we apply to our relations with Pakistan.

The visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar was a step in this direction. During his stay, the Foreign Minister met with Secretary Powell, Deputy Secretary Armitage, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Secretary Powell emphasized the need to allow for civil liberties in the run-up to elections and to ensure free and fair elections were held. Naturally, given our strong support for democracy as a fundamental value, we were concerned when General Musharraf named himself President of Pakistan through a special order rather than allowing Pakistan to choose through a democratic process. As a long-standing friend, we want to see Pakistan develop a stable, democratic system -- as I am sure you do.

During his meeting with the Foreign Minister, Secretary Powell also stressed the need for U.S.-Pakistan cooperation to end conflict and instability in Afghanistan, including stemming the threat of terrorism from that country, and addressing the humanitarian crisis which grows more desperate each day. Our two countries share the goal of a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, but we have some differences about how to reach this goal. We will continue to try to find common ground.

The Secretary also raised the necessity of pursuing strategic restraint and nonproliferation in South Asia so that the next generation can live without fear of nuclear war. We had a lengthy and substantive discussion of these issues with key Pakistani officials and will be looking for opportunities to continue this dialogue, which is also very much in our interest.

Foreign Minister Sattar's meetings in Washington have initiated the process of narrowing differences, seeking understandings and improving communication between the United States and Pakistan. I do not want to minimize our differences but to highlight the fact that an important dialogue has been initiated.

Continued open and frank dialogue will put our relationship on a sounder footing. The main basis of our friendship in the past -- common goals in a Cold War environment -- is now out of date. As Deputy Secretary Armitage recently said: "For years, we had an unbalanced policy -- a false relationship based on other countries. We want a policy about Pakistan." In the past, the U.S.-Pakistan relationship was "about" other countries, for us, it was "about" the Soviet Union, China, or Afghanistan, for Pakistan, it was "about" India. That will not work any more. We need to stop seeing, our interests through the lens of other countries and find out what we can do together and establish a new equilibrium in our ties.

In seeking this new equilibrium, there are already some positive points of departure. One key to a successful future for Pakistan lies with its economy. A Pakistan that is reforming economically and whose economy is growing and where poverty is declining is surely in our interests. Improved economic health should promote political stability and strengthen democratic reforms as well as retard and even reverse the growth of extremism. The Government of Pakistan correctly aims to revive growth, restore macroeconomic stability, reduce poverty, improve governance and document the economy in an attempt to raise revenues. We would like to see the Government stay firm in its course, which has already begun to show real results. Some of these positive developments have been highlighted in the 2001-2002 Budget, announced on June 18 [2001]. In our view, this is a good, solid budget.

The United States strongly supports economic and fiscal reform by the Government of Pakistan, The current economic team in place in Islamabad gives the Government a unique opportunity to move ahead with reform, the Government's commitment to an ambitious program of economic reform leas generated substantial results, but the current drought, continuing difficulties in establishing a fair tax system and long-term social problems are holding Pakistan back. We hope that the reform program will continue to have the full support of President Musharraf.

Pakistan's leadership also recognizes that improving the country's public education system is key to its economic, social and political development. We applaud and support efforts by the government to revitalize the education system. The United States is providing $2.5 million this year to begin to assist the Government directly in improving its basic education system, and I will be working to make more money available. This program will initially focus on improving the quality of public education at the early primary level. It aims to produce examples of reforms, which can be duplicated throughout the educational system. For Pakistan, as any country, the future lies with its children, and the United States wants to help assure the best future possible for the children of Pakistan.

The United States is also pleased that Pakistan is following the path of dialogue with India in order to resolve the serious differences that divide the two countries. We have applauded President Musharraf's decision to accept Prime Minister Vajpayee's invitation to meet. We wish every success to the two leaders when they get together in July [July 14-16 2001 in Agra, India].

We will continue to urge both India and Pakistan to work out their differences through dialogue. I know that for Pakistan Kashmir is at the heart of these differences. We believe that it is important for all sides in Kashmir to exercise restraint and reduce violence. Restraint on all sides will facilitate prospects for any dialogue to produce positive results.

Pakistanis, I'm sure, believe the primary difficulty in our relationship is sanctions, and they also believe these sanctions are unfair and should be lifted. The fact is that the sanctions were required by law because of actions by Pakistan's leadership. But our objective now is to find ways to move forward on the issues -- including nuclear proliferation -- which led to the sanctions. And, as I and other Administration officials have said, some of these sanctions may have outlived their usefulness.

But leaving aside the nuclear-related sanctions, the Pakistan government is still faced with sanctions triggered by Pakistan's military coup. Under the law, these sanctions will remain in place until the President can certify to Congress that a democratically elected government has taken office. Obviously, General Musharraf's decision to name himself President raises new

questions about how Pakistan will return to constitutional, democratic government. We will be watching this closely in the months ahead.

In closing, I must be blunt in saying that Pakistan faces serious problems. But I am also realistic and optimistic in recognizing that Pakistan also has the capability to deal with these problems. It has made a start on getting its economic and fiscal house in order. It can devote a similar effort, to restoring its democratic institutions and raising its social indicators. As it moves toward increased prosperity, democracy and stability, Pakistan can count on the encouragement and support of the United States.