Arms to Pak: US envoy rushes in to calm waters

US Ambassador to India David Mulford today sought to placate Indian concerns over proposed US arms sales to Pakistan while emphasising Washi...

US Ambassador to India David Mulford today sought to placate Indian concerns over proposed US arms sales to Pakistan while emphasising Washington was keen on building stronger defence ties with India, including more arms sales, provided New Delhi was willing to ‘‘give us a try’’.

The proposed sale to Pakistan, Mulford said, needs to be seen in the context of the US war on terror and Islamabad’s continued support for this, particularly in the backdrop of the successful campaign in Afghanistan. He, however, added that the US is clear that such support should be matched by a range of measures for ‘‘further democratisation’’ within Pakistan.

The US help, he said, was an ‘‘encouragement’’ to Pakistan to ‘‘do things’’ that are also in the interests of India. ‘‘I don’t see why it should have a negative impact on the (Indo-Pak) dialogue. None of these things are particularly significant in the overall military relationship between the two (India and Pakistan) countries,’’ he said adding that no decision had still been taken on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan.

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The issue, it may be noted, has caused much concern here. India raised the matter with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during his recent trip saying such sales could have a negative impact on the on going dialogue between India and Pakistan. These views were reiterated by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday. New Delhi has also conveyed to Washington that such decisions could affect the goodwill created by the positive strides in Indo-US ties.

While the US understands Indian ‘‘sensitivities’’ in the matter, Mulford said Washington views India as an ‘‘emerging power’’ and has fashioned its ties based on this vision. Pakistan, on the other hand, was a US ally in the war against terror which had its own significance.

This, Mulford said, was conveyed during Rumsfeld’s visit. Indo-US defence ties, he added, had a much larger potential where both sides could achieve greater interoperability between the forces. In fact, a draft agreement for more interoperability has been proposed by the US and is under consideration here.

‘‘We would like to be a bigger supplier of military equipment and weapons to India. And we made this known during Secretary Rumsfeld’s visit. There were issues of cost and reliability, which I think are more of a political issue.’’

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He denied any suggestion of a slight loss in the momentum of Indo-US strategic relations. ‘‘Not at all. It is on the contrary’’, he said.