Washington: In the wake of Pervez
Musharraf's disclosure that US aid to fight terrorists were
used to bolster defences against India, New Delhi Tuesday said
there is a need for "greater accountability" in terms of how
Pakistan uses the defence assistance.
"We do feel that in the security field, the assistance
should be more tightly focused on building counterinsurgency
capabilities rather than conventional defence equipment which
can be diverted for other purposes," Indian Ambassador Meera
Shankar said here.
"Of course there may be need for greater
accountability in terms of how the defence assistance is
used," Shankar said in response to a question on Musharraf's
admission that he diverted US aid for building up its Army
against India.
However, Shankar said India supports the American
economic and development assistance to Pakistan as it shares
the objective of a stable Pakistan.
Referring to the recent visit of Home Minister P
Chidambaram, she said this laid the foundation for a "more
robust and productive cooperation" in the future counter-
terrorism efforts especially through improved institutional
linkages intelligence sharing and threat assessments.
"We in India have vital stakes in the stability
prosperity of Afghanistan and Pakistan and in the elimination
of extremist sanctuaries in the region. We have regular and
candid dialogue on the situation," Shankar said, delivering a
speech on Indo-US relationship at the prestigious Atlantic
Council.
India hopes that the US would stay the course in
Afghanistan, she said.
"We believe that bringing peace, stability and
moderation to this region will require sustained engagement
and will not be a short term enterprise," Shankar said.
"We do think that the imperative to stay the course is
strong and we would hope that this is something which the US
would find its way to accept," Shankar said.
"Yes" she said when asked by the moderator "you would
hope that the US would stay the course."
India and the US also exchange views and discuss
approaches on other developments on South Asia and now
increasingly talk about the wider Asian region, Africa and
Latin America.
The Indian Ocean, which is vital to global commerce
and energy flow and home as much as to the natural disasters
to piracy, is becoming a strong focus of India US engagement
and lies at the forefront of our growing security cooperation,
she said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 13:27