LAHORE - Participants of a dialogue held under the aegis of Nawa-e-Waqt here Tuesday expressed divergent views over the implications of US-India cooperation in different fields.
Former Pakistan Ambassador to USA, Begum Abida Hussain was of the view that civil-nuclear cooperation between India and the USA may disturb the strategic balance in the region. And if the US also exports its weapons to India, it would also have implications for Pakistan, she averred.
Lt General (R) Naseer Akhtar, on the other hand, believed that Barrack Obama’s visit to India proved helpful in reducing the tension between India and Pakistan. According to him, there was a war-like situation in the region before his visit, but now the situation was different. He also pleaded that Pakistan should concentrate on putting its own house in order instead of worrying about mutual relations between other countries.
Naseer said that US could play a role in resolution of the Kashmir dispute which was the main stumbling block in the way of Pakistan’s relations with the two countries.
PTI leader Mehmoodur Rashid thought that US president’s visit to India should be an eye opener for Pakistan which should look for other options to maintain balance of power in the region. He pleaded that Pakistan should review its foreign policy and enhance cooperation with Russia and China who could serve as its trusted partners. Rashid viewed that US had shown its clear tilt towards India by striking a nuclear deal with that country. “We should give a clear message to America that Pakistan would not accept Indian hegemony in the region in any way”, he affirmed.
ANP leader Ehsan Wyne said that America wanted to contain China through India, Japan and Australia to prevent its advance towards becoming a super power. “US wants to become a strategic partner with India for the reason that China was a strategic partner with Pakistan, also meeting its defense needs”, he maintained. Wyne also saw with skepticism the enhanced Indian role in Afghanistan as envisaged by the US to counter terrorism. He said it was not acceptable to Pakistan since India was using Afghan soil to sponsor terrorist activities in Balochistan.
To a question by Aiwan-e-Waqt host Mr Saifullah Sipra, Abida Hussain said that the agreements on economic cooperation and environment between the US and India should not be worrisome for Pakistan. She, however, criticized the US for not consulting the signatory countries of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) before clinching a nuclear deal with India, a country which was not even a signatory to the NPT.
On US support to India for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, the former Ambassador said it would not make any difference as there were many other countries in the race and US support would be of little help in this regard.