Excerpts from the attached article: (Condoleeza) Rice also claimed the US decision to have good relations with India and Pakistan separately, contributed to a significant improvement in Indo-Pakistan relations.
Rice ruled out any comparison between the two South Asian neighbours, noting that India was looking to "grow its influence into global influence," a goal, she said, the US supports, while Pakistan "is looking to a settled neighbourhood so that it can deal with extremism in its own borders." The complete article: No comparison between India and Pak: US Press Trust Of India Posted online: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 1628 hours IST Washington, April 6: Hoping to develop its ties with India and Pakistan on "independent tracks," the us has claimed it was creating a "more stable" balance of power in the region by deciding to provide F-16 fighter jets to Islamabad and responding to New Delhi's request for information on high-performance aircraft. "The sale of F-16s to Pakistan... But also, the decision to participate in the request for information from India for high-performance aircraft means that we believe these two relationships can develop on independent tracks, that we are not somehow destabilising the balance of power by having good Defence relations with each of them," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told members of the National Conference of Editorial Writers yesterday. "In fact, we are creating a new set of circumstances in which the balance of power will be more stable by an American Defence relationship with both of them," she said. Rice also claimed the US decision to have good relations with India and Pakistan separately, contributed to a significant improvement in Indo-Pakistan relations. "...We have de-hyphenated the relationship -- we have a good relationship with India, we have a good relationship with Pakistan -- all of that, I think, has contributed to a significant improvement in relations between the two." Rice ruled out any comparison between the two South Asian neighbours, noting that India was looking to "grow its influence into global influence," a goal, she said, the US supports, while Pakistan "is looking to a settled neighbourhood so that it can deal with extremism in its own borders." Rice said the US had learnt a tough lesson by not paying attention to the relationship with Pakistan after the collapse of Soviet power in Afghanistan. "So if you look at this as a strategy for South Asia rather than a Pakistan or an India or an Afghanistan strategy, I think you see why Defence cooperation with both is important." Asked whether she could expand on "talk about co-production of F-16s or (other) fighter jets with India," Rice said, "No, at this point all we are talking about is tendering -- the Indians have asked for information about our high-performance aircraft. What kinds of arrangements would be worked out for what kinds of production, we're not there yet. "All that has been asked for, so far, is a request for information on can we supply, are we willing to bid. It is really even, are we willing to bid on high-performance aircraft to India." On the improved Indo-Pak ties since December 2001 when “there was a chance of conflict", Rice said, "the two sides recognised the dangers that they posed - in part because the war on terrorism has, interestingly, put Pakistan and India on the same side against extremism in a way that they had never been before and, in part, because the united states has worked very hard to have good relations with India and with Pakistan, in other words." "I was just there, and what is remarkable is to walk into a room with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or with President (Pervez) Musharraf and have them quite separately say that they are committed to good relations, that they believe relations are going relatively well," Rice said. Both Singh and Musharraf, she said, are working hard.