Indo-Pak relationship largely unchanged: Clapper

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Feb 17 (PTI) Despite the fact that
leadership of both India and Pakistan have expressed their
determination for talks with each other, the relationship
between the two nations remains unchanged, according to a top
US intelligence official.
"India's ties to Pakistan are largely unchanged. Both
sides have stated their willingness to put all issues on the
table and are committed to another round of talks at the
foreign minister level at a date to be determined," James R
Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, said in his
prepared testimony before the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence.
"Senior Indian officials continue to call for progress
in the prosecution of individuals charged with the November
2008 attacks in Mumbai, and remain concerned at the length of
the process taking place in Pakistan. New Delhi, nevertheless,
continues to underscore its desire for peaceful and stable
relations with Islamabad," Clapper said.
India, he said, is pursuing a robust foreign policy
agenda, working to enhance ties to East and Southeast Asian
nations, offering reciprocal visits with China, and hosting
high level engagements in New Delhi by the US, French, and
Russian Presidents in the last months of 2010.
Indian officials welcomed, in particular, the US
endorsement of an eventual seat for India on the UN Security
Council, and US commitment to support Indian membership in the
four international export control regimes -- in a phased
manner and consistent with maintaining the core principles of
these regimes -- as India takes steps toward full adoption and
implementation of the regimes' requirements, he said.
Indian capital New Delhi, meanwhile, has been working to
deepen its engagement with multilateral fora such as the G-20,
East Asian Summit, and the climate change discussions in
Mexico, Clapper said.
Indian officials, he said, have welcomed the
international community's commitment to remain in Afghanistan
until the end of 2014. New Delhi continues to believe that a
stable, friendly Afghanistan is crucial to Indian security.
Despite successful and attempted attacks on the
official, commercial, and non-governmental Indian presence in
Afghanistan, the government believes it has a mandate, from
both the Indian and Afghan peoples, to continue civilian
assistance programs and reconstruction efforts there.

India's open assistance programmes provide only
noncombat aid, although the Indian media continues to discuss
whether the country should also consider various
capacity-building programs for the Afghan security forces as a
means to bolster internal security, he said.
Clapper said India is closely watching a variety of
issues that New Delhi believes will be of primary concern in
2011, to include questions about whether or how to reconcile
Afghan Taliban, US, and ISAF views about the current and
future security situation in Afghanistan, and developments in
efforts to foster civil society, a solid economy, and robust
democratic processes.
New Delhi, he said, is likely to seek dialogue on
these issues with a variety of interested nations. "The
Pakistani government, however, remains concerned that India is
using its presence in Afghanistan and its discussions with the
US and other nations to develop policies that may be
destabilising to Pakistan," he said.
"Meanwhile, officials, media commentators, and members
of the think-tank community in India are discussing the global
implications of the simultaneous "emergence of India" and the
"rise of China."
While underscoring the unique aspect of this twinned
emergence of two substantial powers on the global political
and economic stage, Indians have also noted that there is no
inevitable clash between the two powers," Clapper said. PTI
LKJ
PRI