** URL=I’d rather hang myself than extradite Omar: Musharraf **
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=5190505
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2002 9:44:59 PM ]
WASHINGTON: **istan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf reportedly told the US ambassador in Islamabad that he would rather “hang himself” than extradite Sheikh Omar Sayeed, one of many instances of backsliding that has called into question Pakistan’s credibility as a frontline state in the war against terrorism. **
Pakistan’s intelligence service has also resumed helping both the al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the west and Kashmiri insurgents in the east, according to accounts from Afghan and US sources. It has also begun to release hundreds of militants arrested in the aftermath of 9/11 on the mere promise that they will “behave” in the future.
Although the Bush administration continues to certify that Islamabad is being cooperative, its actions – or lack of it – is beginning to raise serious questions in Washington about its intentions.
Musharraf’s comment on the danger (to Pakistan) in extraditing Saeed was reportedly made to the US Ambassador Wendy Chamberlain, who conveyed it back to Washington, according to Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland. Behind the refusal to extradite Saeed lie fears that he may expose the deep ties between Pakistani intelligence services and terrorist organisations.
Despite such brazen statements, the Bush administration continues to coddle Pakistan, a policy that is coming in for blistering attack in the US media.
“Washington now allows Musharraf to make expediency the guiding principle of the relationship. The argument that Musharraf’s survival, and Pakistan’s interests, must take precedence for the time being over hunting down al-Qaeda and halting cross-border terrorism has strong support within Powell’s State Department,” Hoagland wrote on Thursday.
“But Musharraf is now managing Washington, which has turned its attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq and other matters. He has steadily backed away from his January boldness even as Pakistan rakes in hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in aid. Powell has said nothing as the backsliding has become more flagrant and more harmful to Bush’s global cause,” he said.
US officials continue to maintain that Pakistan is doing everything it is asked too, while avoiding throwing any light on the tussle between the two sides over Saeed’s extradition.
The two sides have also differed sharply over the US decision to recall all American diplomatic personnel, except those dealing with emergency services, following the bomb attack on a church in Islamabad resulting in the death of a US diplomat and her daughter.
More than 200 US nationals have returned to Washington over the past week, leaving behind a skeletal staff to man basic operations. Dozens of diplomatic personnel are now having to be accommodated in newly created positions in the state department.
Pakistan itself has now become an avoidable posting for most state department mandarins. The latest recall is the fourth in the last decade and the second within six months. US personnel were first recalled from Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, but were sent back in January when the situation appeared to improve.
The Pearl murder and the church bombing showed otherwise and they were pulled out again last week. The frequent movement has thrown the lives of many diplomats out of gear.
However, the US move has not been well received by Pakistan, which sees the exit as playing into the hands of terrorists. The pull-out is also certain to hurt Pakistan’s economy since US investors and businesses will be reluctant to go where they lack diplomatic support.
[This message has been edited by kumarakn (edited March 28, 2002).]