Pak. offers full support to U.S.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 13. Pakistan has offered its `unstinted' cooperation to the United States in the fight against terrorism and said the attacks in New York and Washington has raised the struggle against terrorism to a new level.

The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, conveyed this to the newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Ms. Wendy Chamberlin, when she called on him this morning to present her credentials and raise the issue of cooperation expected by Washington in tracking down those behind Tuesday's dastardly attacks.

The Press Secretary to Gen. Musharraf, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, said there was no specific request or demand from the U.S. during the meeting. However, it is believed that Ms. Chamberlin pointedly asked whether Washington could expect Islamabad's support if the U.S. were to decide to take concrete action against Afghanistan if evidence pointing to the complicity of the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, in the attacks.

Gen. Musharraf is understood to have replied in the affirmative. This was evident from Ms. Chamberlin's brief remarks to the press after her 45-minute meeting with him. ``We had a frank discussion of the situation. It was direct. We had a meeting of minds. Let me point out that I am leaving after my first meeting on the occasion of presentation of credentials on a positive note. The President has made a positive and strong statement. In the course of the meeting, he repeated several times that he is with us,'' she said.

Her remarks assume significance in the wake of the statement by the U.S. Secretary of the State, Gen. Colin Powell, in his press conference at Washington on Wednesday. He said America would seek Pakistan's cooperation in tracking down the culprits.

In fact, even as Gen. Powell was in the midst of his press conference, Gen. Musharraf came out with a strong statement late on Wednesday night pledging full cooperation to the Bush Administration in combating terrorism.

Gen. Musharraf, who returned from Karachi around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, was closeted with his aides and advisers for over two hours. The meeting is believed to have reviewed the situation arising out of the attacks and the outcome was the strongly- worded statement.

``We strongly condemn this barbaric act of terrorism, which will live in memory as a most heinous crime against humanity. As the world tries to grasp the magnitude of the tragedy and mourns those who have perished, we pray for the recovery of thousands of others who have suffered injuries. We regard terrorism as an evil that threatens the world community. Concerted international effort is needed to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The carnage in New York and Washington has raised this struggle to a new level. Pakistan has been extending cooperation to international efforts to combat terrorism in the past and will continue to do so. All countries must join hands in this common cause. I wish to assure President Bush and the U.S. Government our unstinted cooperation in the fight against terrorism,'' the operative portion of the statement said.

Maj. Gen. Quereshi, flanked by the Information Secretary, Mr. Anwar Mahmood, and the Director-General of External Publicity, Mr. M. Noor Saghir Khan, told a news conference that Islamabad continued to believe that the best way to deal with Afghanistan was to engage the Taliban.

Sridhar Krishnaswami writes from New York:

Earlier in the day, the Bush administration asked Pakistan if it would help in tracking down those involved in the horrific acts of Tuesday. ``We thought it would be useful to point out to the Pakistani leadership at every level that we are looking for and expecting their fullest cooperation... as we conduct this investigation... as well as how helpful they might be if we find a basis to act on that information,'' the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, said.

In Washington, the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Richard Armitage, met the Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., Ms. Maleeha Lodhi.

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