Ambassador Qazi's letter to the Pakistani Community

July 2, 2003

My dear Pakistanis in America,

The President of Pakistan has just concluded an extremely important visit to the US. For your information I shall summarize the highlights of the visit and the main points made by the President during his visit on issues of concern to us.

This was the fourth visit of the President to the US since the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

It was the first visit since the elections in Pakistan in October 2002.

Significantly, President Musharraf was the first ever South Asian leader to be invited by the President of the US to Camp David.

At Camp David President Bush announced a 5 year assistance package of $ 3 billion. This package which is expected to become operational in fiscal year 2005 is to be divided equally between economic assistance and security or defense assistance.

The package is designed to correct perceptions in some quarters in Pakistan that the US is not interested in having a long term relationship with Pakistan.

President Bush made it clear in Camp David that his Administration was interested in having a long term, broad based and predictable relationship with Pakistan that would extend beyond the immediate war on terror.

The economic package will include a debt reduction option that would enable Pakistan to write off the remaining portion of the bilateral debt owed to the US.

It would also include expenditures on the social sectors and infrastructure development. The details will be worked out by Pakistan in consultation with the US. The package will be in addition to the almost $ 400 million assistance proposed by the US Administration for fiscal year 2004.

The defense portion of the package will contribute to the maintenance of an effective deterrent capability against external threats to the national security.

Much of the media reporting with regard to the F-16s was misleading. Upgrading and spare-parts for these aircraft are on the table.

The President had successful meetings with the House International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There was bipartisan Congressional support for President Bush’s proposed $ 3 billion assistance package to Pakistan.

This package of assistance signifies a new level of cooperation and friendship between the US and Pakistan.

The US recognizes Pakistan’s indispensable role in the war on global terrorism, the need to translate US goodwill towards Pakistan into economic opportunities for the average Pakistani, and the need for consultations with Pakistan in order to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and the South Asia region.

President Bush and his Administration appreciate the initiatives taken by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Jamali for a peace process with India including a settlement process for Jammu and Kashmir.

In his meetings with President Bush and senior US officials President Musharraf outlined his four step proposal for a peace process with India. This includes (i) the unconditional resumption of dialogue; (ii) recognition of the centrality of the Kashmir dispute in India-Pakistan relations; (iii) discarding solutions that are unacceptable to the Kashmiri people, Pakistan or India; and (iv) concentrating on “win-win” solutions acceptable to the Kashmiri people, Pakistan and India.

The President said this may take time. Accordingly, the emphasis should be on putting a credible peace process in place instead of concentrating on outcomes on which agreement may not be possible in the initial stages. As progress is made in accordance with the four step settlement process simultaneously space would open up for progress in other areas of the relationship between India and Pakistan. This is the only way forward. If India is sincere it should respond to the President’s offer of a realistic peace process instead of seeking to forcibly impose an unjust and unstable status quo settlement.

The President spelled out his ideas on the subject in all his interactions with US think tanks including the US Institute of Peace in Washington and the World affairs Council, Rand Corporation and Pacific Council for International Policy in Los Angeles. The President’s address to the USIP is being placed on our web site. (www.embassyofpakistan.org)

The President also met with the editorial boards of the Washington Times and the Washington Post. He gave interviews to the Los Angeles Times, CNN, CNNI, NBC, NPR and FOX.

In addition to the multi-billion dollar assistance package two bilateral agreements were signed during the inauguration ceremony of the new Chancery building in Washington. These were the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement.

The significance of TIFA is that it is a first step towards the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA.) which will provide free access to the US market for Pakistan exports from Pakistan.

The Science and Technology Agreement will enhance the level of technology in a number of Pakistani sectors including agriculture – the backbone of the Pakistan economy.

The President performed the formal inauguration of the new Chancery building. As a sign of the new level of warmth in the bilateral relationship four Cabinet level officials of the US government attended the ceremony. These included Defense Sectary Rumsfeld, Attorney General Ashcroft, US Trade Representative Zoellick, and USAID Director Natsios.

Separately Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Secretary of State Armitage, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Treasury Secretary Snow, and World Bank President Wolfensehn called on the President at his hotel suite.

The President met with the US-Pakistan Business Council in Washington and with US business leaders and major Information Technology executives in Los Angeles. The President also met with a galaxy of successful Pakistani Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to chalk out a strategy for IT and IT-enabled businesses in Pakistan.

Earlier, on arrival in Los Angeles, the Mayor of Los Angeles and a number of Supervisors of the LA region called on the President to accord a formal welcome to him.

Finally, the President met with the Pakistani community of the West Coast and the Western States of the US. About a thousand Pakistanis attended the function.

In all his interactions and meetings the President emphasized his vision of “enlightened moderation” for the Muslim world which was the vision of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam for Pakistan.

The President explained that there were two misperceptions. On the one hand, many Muslims felt that the US and the West were deliberately targeting Islam. On the other, many in the US and West felt Islam preached violence and intolerance. Both were wrong.

These misperceptions, the President explained, could only be corrected by a “two pronged” development. On the one hand, in the Muslim world instead of the politics of despair and desperation there should be a politics of moderation and self-emancipation from illiteracy and poverty. On the other hand, the US and the Western world should address themselves to the just resolution of conflict situations in which Muslims were victims such as Jammu and Kashmir, Palestine, etc.

Finally, the President graciously announced his approval for the proposal to convert the beautiful old Chancery building on Massachusetts Avenue into a Jinnah Center. The center would be used for the projection of Pakistan’s culture and economy. The Pakistani community is invited to make suggestions for the best use of the proposed Jinnah Center and on modalities for their proper implementation.



(Ashraf Jehangir Qazi)
Ambassador of Pakistan