WASHINGTON, Nov 6: The US ambassador to Pakistan said on Tuesday that President Pervez Musharraf did not “push hard” for a halt to the bombing of Afghanistan during Ramazan.
Wendy Chamberlin also said President Musharraf was working hard against difficult obstacles to stop the flow of weapons and pro-Taliban fighters from Pakistan across the porous border into Afghanistan.
“He was not advocating and he did not push hard for us to stop the bombing during Ramazan,” Chamberlin said of the president.
“He has always been in support of a quick and swift end to this war and he has supported everything that will bring about that quick and short end to it,” she said in an interview with CBS television.
“He does have concerns ... but when we talked about the situation, he was very supportive of our conviction that we should continue,” Chamberlin said.
Her remarks come as US officials have left almost no doubt that the military operation now underway in Afghanistan will not stop for Ramazan.
On Monday, the United States began airing a message worldwide through the Voice of America that seeks to explain why no break is necessary.
In an editorial entitled “No pause in war against terror”, Washington makes the case that such a move has no precedent even as calls from the Arab and Muslim world grow for a respite.
The editorial notes that Muslims have not stopped fighting among themselves during Ramazan nor have Muslim countries refrained from launching attacks on people of other faiths during the holy month.
Chamberlin said she believed Arabs and other Muslims would not protest the US position if they understood the campaign was directed against terrorism and not the Afghan people or Islam.
“I think if we explain the importance of resolving the threat of terrorism quickly that they’ll embrace this concept as well,” the ambassador said. “I do not see it as a problem.”
In addition to accepting the US position on Ramazan, President Musharraf has also vowed to crack down on Taliban sympathizers in Pakistan sending weapons and soldiers to back the militia, Chamberlin said.
“Let me assure you, President Musharraf has been working hard to stop those fighters that cross the border, but it’s a huge border, it’s 1,500 miles (2,400kms) — very porous, very rugged,” she said.
“Getting control of the border is not easy,” Chamberlin said, adding that she had no doubt the president had ended Pakistan’s military and intelligence support to the Taliban after Sept 11.
“The policies of Musharraf have changed 180 (degrees) since Sept 11,” she said.
“It will take time, really, to turn that whole aircraft carrier around. It’s a wide arc, but it’s a very loyal military, they’re loyal to him and they’re loyal to his policies.” —AFP