WASHINGTON, Dec 1: President-elect Barack Obama’s future senior adviser on South Asia hopes that President Asif Zardari will “get control over the ISI” and persuade it to fight terrorists.

But Bruce Riedel, who advises Mr Obama on S. Asian affairs, acknowledges that he is not sure if Zardari could achieve this target. “Mr Zardari has also promised to get control over the ISI and to stop its policy of both chasing and supporting terrorism in Pakistan,” says Mr Riedel. “His ability to do so is still very much in doubt.” He notes that Zardari has made several positive statements about his desire to ease tensions with India, including a pledge that Pakistan will adhere to a ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons doctrine. In an opinion released by the Brookings Institution think-tank, Riedel describes Zardari’s pledge as “a major change in Islamabad’s position” on the nuclear issue. — Correspondent