Reporter’s abduction not to harm Pak-US ties
Renowned journalist Ahmad Rashid has said that the kidnap ping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl will not do any damage to the relations between the US and Pakistan.
In an interview with BBC Television on Tuesday, Ahmad Rashid said, “I think there is enormous cooperation between the agencies of the two countries and certainly the American government will understand that the Pakistan government is doing whatever it can for Pearl.”
He however maintained, “This abduction will do of course a lot of damage to Western media coverage in Pakistan but it will not damage government-to-government relations.”
Responding to a question regarding President Musharraf’s speech in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday, Rashid remarked there was growing frustration in Pakistan and in Kashmir also as there has been absolutely no reaction from India’ over Musharraf’s speech which he gave about a month ago.
“I think Pakistanis were hoping that there would be at least some kind of demobilization of troops on the border which could then result in a cooling down between the two sides,” he said.
To another query, Rashid said there had been a very hard crackdown against militants in Azad Kashmir also. “Many of their offices had been shut down and at the moment at least what is needed is some kind of gesture from India,” he added.
To a question about whereabouts of al-Qaeda leadership, Rashid said, “I think Osama bin Laden is alive and at he is out of Afghanistan.
Source: The Nation
Date:2/6/2002
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