Referring to do US relations Hussain said while there were no basic hints or misunderstanding there are certain issues on which Washington would like New Delhi to review its stand. There was an example the charge of Human Rights violations in Kashmir The US administration feels that India should allow an Amnesty International team to visit the border state since it has nothing to hide. While the US is appreciative on India’s stance on chemical weapons it continues to press New Delhi to review its policy of keeping its options in respect of nuclear arms.
Referring to US-Pakistan relations Hussain said in the past the US gave assistance and priority to Pakistan in the context of its need to encircle the Soviet Union Now that the cold war has ended I would say that a trend of diminishing returns has become evident in their relations. But it will be wrong for anybody to conclude that America has totally abandoned Pakistan. The intensity is reduced but the innumeracy continues.
Referring to the positive elements in the US policy towards India he noted that the move to extend the Pressler amendment to India (it is applicable only to Pakistan now) did not get any consistent support in Capitol Hill. In fact the success that Pakistan achieved in the first round in the House of Representatives was undone by the second debate on a similar issue followed by a thumping victory for India in the Senate.
A major policy initiative to forge new links of cooperation in political strategic and security areas is under way and the initial response from the concerned countries is rated as encouraging.
The Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao is known to have been pursuing the new policy initiative in this sensitive field with the same determination and firmness as he had shown while formulating the new economic policy The visit of the chief of the army staff Gen S.F. Rodrigues to the United States attains special relevance in view of the ongoing high-level exchanges between New Delhi and Washington.
In the emerging policy formulation which is seen as a response to the changed global power structure special priority is being accorded to India’s cooperation with the United States and some Gulf countries.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991
