Here’s another report on this topic.
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20040709-045528-4466r.htm
U.S.: Time for Pakistan to prove its worth
By Anwar Iqbal
UPI South Asian Affairs Analyst
Washington, DC, Jul. 9 (UPI) – Pakistan is under pressure to fulfill two U.S. demands, sending troops to Iraq and catching high-value al-Qaida targets, diplomatic sources and media reports said Friday.
**U.S. officials have indicated they think that with the largest army in the Islamic world, Pakistan can play a key role in raising a Muslim force for Iraq and reducing the existing pressure on U.S. forces who are facing almost daily attacks by Iraqi insurgents.
President George W. Bush publicly sought Pakistani troops for Iraq while announcing a $3 billion economic assistance package for Pakistan at the Camp David presidential resort in June 2003.**
The United States, however, made no serious attempt to raise such troops until now because the Pakistanis – and America’s other Muslim allies – had said they would only contribute troops to a force either mandated by the United Nations or requested by an Iraqi government.
With the installation of an interim Iraqi government on June 28, that condition has been fulfilled, and late last month Washington sent a senior military official to Islamabad to remind the Pakistanis the pledge President Pervez Musharraf had made when he met Bush at Camp David in June 2003.
After his meetings with Musharraf and other Pakistani generals, Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command, said he had discussed “the geo-strategic environment, the security situation and ways and means to further enhance ties between the armed forces of the two countries” with the Pakistanis.
The Pakistani media, however, reported that during his talks with Pakistani leaders, the U.S. general emphasized the need for raising a Muslim force for peace duties in Iraq and hopes Pakistan could play a leading role in that force.
The need for Pakistani troops has been further enhanced with the announcement of the new government in India, another country with a large army, that it would not be sending its troops to Iraq. After their talks with Abizaid, Pakistani officials indicated their willingness to send troops to help the U.N. mission in Iraq and a recent U.N. move may make it easier for the Pakistanis to do so.
Diplomatic sources have informed United Press International that Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States is a front-runner to head the United Nations mission in Iraq.
The sources said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has already discussed the possibility with Musharraf. The Pakistani ambassador in Washington, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, is a career diplomat who has previously headed his country’s missions in India and China.
As a senior Muslim diplomat, Qazi may be more acceptable to the Iraqis than others and his inclusion in the U.N. mission may also encourage Pakistan to contribute troops to a U.N.-mandated force for Iraq.
