Sanctions against India to go?

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, AUG. 27. The Bush administration is on the verge of lifting the post-1998 Glenn Amendment sanctions against India in an effort to forge a closer strategic and economic partnership, says The New York Times in a front page report.

According to the report, the move to ease sanctions against India - but not necessarily for Pakistan - could come as early as next month when Congress reconvenes after the August recess, and perhaps even before a planned meeting next month between the President, Mr. George W. Bush, and the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting.

Senior lawmakers have apparently indicated to the administration their support; and one such key person is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Mr. Joseph Biden. According to the paper, Mr. Biden wrote to the President last week expressing support for lifting the sanctions against India and indicating that this could come before the Bush-Vajpayee meeting.

Equally significant is the argument that while some senior administration officials are keen on ``some'' movement with respect to Pakistan, this will not be that easy on Capitol Hill. Mr. Biden was quoted as saying that by lifting sanctions against India, the United States would be ``setting an example with Pakistan''. It has been consistently said that some of the sanctions against Pakistan are ``democracy'' related. It remains to be seen if the administration is willing to go independent of the sentiments of Capitol Hill on the sanctions against Pakistan.

Senior administration officials, wary of bringing about an ``India only'' policy, have said Pakistan - a close ally of Washington during the Cold War era - should not be ``relegated to the dust heap''. The Bush administration in constantly leaning on Islamabad vis-a-vis the Taliban in Afghanistan is concerned that Pakistan's alienation could drive it closer to the much despised regime in Kabul.

``The U.S. is not interested in Pakistan coming more under the influence of Afghanistan. There has to be a way out for Pakistan. We're going to play an effective role,'' the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Richard Armitage, was quoted as saying. Pakistani diplomats here say the lifting of sanctions against India and Pakistan will have to be simultaneous.

Senior officials say Washington is not seeking a quid pro quo; and that the end of the post-1998 sanctions regime will itself lead to a closer dialogue with India on export controls. And in a different context, it will open the way for joint military operations and the sale of non-nuclear weapons technology to India, it is said.

But military-to-military cooperation is not the only thing being talked about. The U.S. is keen on such areas as terrorism, fighting piracy in international waters and cooperation in peace- keeping operations. And economically the U.S., in spite of all the frustrations on the trade and investments front and on the WTO, is keen on a much closer cooperation.

There has been discussion in the official and academic communities here on the longer and larger aspects of the Bush administration's desire for closer relations with India. And much of this has centred round China, which the Republican administration sees as the biggest challenge in the Asia-Pacific.

For the record, the administration has said relationships with countries are by merits and not pegged to third countries.

Or as Mr. Armitage put it, ``whenever you try to establish a relationship with a country which is based on a third country, then you're doomed to failure''.

Mr. Biden also agrees with the notion that China should not be factored in the pursuit of closer relations with India. ``I don't view this as playing India off China.

There are all kinds of reasons to treat them (India) as they are - a great nation.'' But there are others who disagree and say China weighs in heavily when the administration thinks about India.

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