'Relations With The United States Are A Factor Of Stability In South Asia'

Remarks by US President Bush and Pakistan President Musharraf in Press Availability at Camp David

George Bush: Good day, Mr. President. Thank you so much for coming. Laura and I are honored that you andMrs. Musharraf are joining us here at Camp David.

President Musharraf is a courageous leader and a friend of the United States. America has a strongrelationship with Pakistan, and we have benefitted from the industry and the talents of Pakistani Americans.

Today, our two nations are working together closely on common challenges. Both the United States andPakistan are threatened by global terror, and we're determined to defeat it. Pakistan's support was essentialin our campaign against the Taliban.

Since September 11th attacks, Pakistan has apprehended more than 500 al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists --thanks to the effective border security measures and law enforcement cooperation throughout the country, andthanks to the leadership of President Musharraf.

Today, both our countries are working with the Afghan government to build a stable democratic Afghanistanwith secure border regions that are free from terror and free from extremism. Pakistan and the United Statesalso share a determination to bring the security -- the benefits of security and freedom to the people ofIraq. And I look forward to working with President Musharraf on this critical goal.

The friendship between the United States and Pakistan is vital to the security and stability of South Asia.I'm encouraged by the progress President Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee may have made in easingtensions between Pakistan and India. I'm hopeful that the two countries will deepen their engagement on allissues, including Kashmir.

In our meeting we discussed the need to address extremism and cross-border infiltration, and I assured thePresident that the United States will do all we can to promote peace. President Musharraf has set out on animportant mission. He's working to build a modern Pakistan that is tolerant and prosperous. Achieving thisvision of moderation and progress will require movement toward democracy in Pakistan. The United Statescurrently provides over $31 million for initiatives in Pakistan, aimed at broadening political participationand expanding educational opportunities, especially for women and girls.

Greater economic development is also critical to fulfilling the hopes of the Pakistani people. Since we metlast year, the United States has cancelled $1 billion of debt Pakistan owed our country. And today I'm pleasedto announce that our nations are signing a trade and investment framework agreement, which creates a formalstructure for expanding our economic partnership. In addition, I will work with the United States Congress ona $3 billion assistance package to help advance security and economic opportunity for Pakistan's citizens.

For more than 50 years, the United States and Pakistan have worked together for the security and prosperityof South Asia. Today, we reaffirm a friendship that has brought great benefits to our people.

Mr. President, I'm honored you are here.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am extremely grateful to PresidentBush for his gracious invitation to me to visit the United States. I am particularly honored and touched byhis special gesture in arranging our meeting in Camp David.

This is my fourth visit to the United States, and, as always, the United States hospitality has been warmand exemplary. This special gesture by the President to come to Camp David and invite me here on a Tuesday iscertainly a typical example of his warmth and cordiality towards me as a person and towards Pakistan.

We had wide-ranging and extensive discussions with President Bush in a congenial and most informalambiance. These discussions have been highly productive, reflective of the very close and, indeed, specialrelationship that Pakistan today enjoys with the United States.

We have talked not only about our bilateral ties and the immediate situation prevailing in our region inSouth Asia, but have also reflected upon and shared ideas of our common vision of a peaceful and prosperousworld. We have reviewed in depth with President Bush how to strengthen and expand the Pakistan-U.S. bilateralrelationship and to give it greater depth and meaning.

Both sides have reaffirmed that our ties should be made more broad-based and multifaceted and placed on along-term and predictable basis. The United States has accordingly agreed on a multi-year economic and defenserelated package for Pakistan. This exemplifies the U.S. commitment to remain involved with us for a long term.We look forward to diverse programs of cooperation in the economic, commercial, political and the defensesectors. We also expect greater people-to-people contacts and close interaction between the parliaments of thetwo countries to promote the cause of democracy.

As a result of this commitment, two important agreements will be signed during my visit to the UnitedStates. One relates to the trade and investment framework agreement, the TIFA, which would help move towardsan eventual free trade agreement, the FTA.

The other relates to an agreement on cooperation in the field of science and technology, which wouldprovide impetus to growth and development. Our two countries have many common bonds and linkages. Ourrelationship is of long-standing and in the interest of the people of our two countries. We have cooperatedclosely in the global fight against terrorism and we stand determined to rid the world of this menace.

We abhor terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There is no cause that can be justified or promotedthrough terrorist acts. And Pakistan is moving against terrorism in its own national interest.

We also believe that our relations with the United States are a factor of stability in South Asia. We aregrateful to the United States for its constructive engagement in our region, and for its untiring efforts indiffusing tension and bringing about a dialogue process between Pakistan and India, aimed at the resolution ofall outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. President Bush has assured me that hepersonally, and the United States, would remain firmly engaged in South Asia towards the end of bringing peaceand harmony in the region.

We also reviewed the situation prevailing in Afghanistan. We reiterated our firm support to the Bonnprocess, and to the government of President Karzai, which needs to be strengthened. It is important that theworld community remains engaged in Afghanistan, and lives up to its commitment towards the reconstruction anddevelopment of this devastated country.

We also discussed a number of other important issues, such as the situation in Iraq, and the Middle Eastpeace process. I have -- I would like to, in front of this gathering, extend a very warm invitation to thePresident and Mrs. Laura Bush, may I say, to visit Pakistan, and do us this honor, and give us thisopportunity of reciprocating the warmth and cordiality that myself and my wife always receive very well whenwe visit United States.

George Bush: Thank you, Mr. President.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you very much.

George Bush: We will take two questions from each side, and we'll start with Tom Raum.

Question: For both Presidents, the war on terror that you're both engaged in, there are two principles that arestill at large. Could you tell us anything about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden? Is he back in business inPakistan? And what about Saddam Hussein? Is he back in Iraq?

George Bush: Well, let me start off. There's more than two principles at large. There are terrorists whoare -- still have designs are destabilizing the Pakistan government, and are destroying innocent life. You'venamed two. There are others around, too. And we're just on the hunt. And we'll find them. It's a matter oftime.

Thanks to President Musharraf's leadership, on the al Qaeda front we've dismantled the chief operators ofal Qaeda. If Osama bin Laden is alive -- and the President can comment on that if he cares to -- but thepeople reporting to him, the chief operators, people like Khalid Sheik Mohammed are no longer a threat to theUnited States or Pakistan, for that matter.

As I said in my opening remarks, thanks to the leadership of this man and his government, over 500 al Qaedaand Taliban terrorists are detained, they're no longer a problem. So slowly but surely, we're dismantling thenetworks. And we'll continue on the hunt, it doesn't matter how long it takes. It could take a day or it couldtake a month, it could take years. It doesn't matter how long it takes, Mr. President, we will stay on thehunt. And we want to thank you for your cooperation.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you very much. All that I would like to say is that in search of all the alQaeda operatives who are non-Afghan, non-Pakistani, pretty easy to identify, we have entered on the Pakistaniside an area known as the FATA, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, areas where the government neverentered for over a century. This is the first time that the Pakistan army and our civil armed forces haveentered this region. And we are in the process of opening up this region.

Now, if at all any al Qaeda operative is hiding in this region, we are after them. Now, whether Osama binLaden is here or across the border, your guess, sir, will be as good as mine. So I wouldn't like to ventureinto a guess. But the possibility of his, maybe, shifting sides on the border is very much there. But as Isaid, we are fully inside the areas, which are treacherous areas. We have an ingress there. And there is nodoubt in my mind that the military, with every passage of time, will be able to locate any al Qaeda membershiding in this area.

George Bush: Do you want to call on somebody from your press?

Pervez Musharraf: Yes, indeed. I think I'll take --

Question:  Mr. President Bush. It's a very positive statement for bringing peace into South Asia, which is alreadynuclearized, but during the 20 years of honeymoon period of India with Soviet Union, India is the one wholaunched nuclear program, and insecure and a smaller Pakistan, in search of its security, did the same thing.Now, when you are starting a stable relationship with India, what kind of security concerns you are going toaddress about the territorial integrity of Pakistan and security concerns, because Pakistan is much smaller inthe conventional weapons, and that's why they have gone nuclear?

George Bush: I think -- we've spent a lot of time on this subject, not only today, but during previousmeetings. I assured President Musharraf that the United States wants to help toward achieving a peacefulsolution. What you've just described is the reason why there needs to be a peaceful solution on this issue andother issues. Our role will be to be a -- to aid the process forward. The decision makers will be thePakistani government and the Indian government. Those are the governments that have to decide how to resolvethis issue, which is a -- which has been a thorn in both people's sides.

One thing is for certain, that we all must work together to fight off terrorists who would like to preventa peaceful solution. There needs to be a hundred percent effort on all parties side; every party involved withthis issue must focus on not allowing a few to undermine the hopes of many. And the President knows that Iwill remain engaged. I have -- stand by, ready to help. But the truth of the matter is for there to be a finalagreement, it's going to require leadership from both the Pakistani government and the Indian government.

Question: May I have one more question?

George Bush: No, you can't. Thank you.

Question: Mr. President, you mentioned you'd like to see a movement toward democracy in --

George Bush: What now?

Question: You mentioned that you would like to see a movement toward democracy in Pakistan. What would you like tosee happen? There's a report that he might dissolve the parliament there.

George Bush: Well, the President and I talked about the reforms that he's putting in place, and thedemocracy to which he is committed. One of the things that he has done that is most impressive for thelong-term stability of Pakistan is to address education reform. A good education system is one that is goingto mean more likely for any country, including ourselves, to be a freer country, and a more democraticcountry.

And he is -- he's taking on the issue in a way that is a visionary and strong. He's dealing with the madrassas in a way that is productive and constructive. He is working on a national curriculum that willfocus on basic education. I'll let him describe his vision. But this country is committed to democracy, andwe're committed to freedom. We're also committed to working with our partner to fight off the influences ofterrorism. And we've had no better partner in our fight on terror than President Musharraf.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to say a word on the previous question, also,and before I address your -- answer your question. Pakistan very clearly, obviously, is concerned, any countryis concerned about its security. Pakistan follows a strategy of minimum deterrence. We are not into any armsrace, but we do maintain forces to ensure this strategy of minimum deterrence.

And that is what we will keep doing to guard our honor and dignity. We have, as far as India is concerned,our sovereign equality to guard, vis-a-vis, India. And this is what we pursue whenever we are talking of anydefense related issues.

Coming to your question, sir, about democracy, let me assure you it may sound rather odd that I, being amilitary man, am talking of democracy. But let me assure you that I am extremely concerned about introducingsustainable democracy in Pakistan.

Over the last 50 years, five decades, we have had dysfunctional democracy in Pakistan. And what I am doing,really, is to introduce sustainable democracy. Let me assure you, all the constitution changes, all thepolitical restructuring that we have done is in line with ensuring sustainable democracy in Pakistan. We willcontinue with this process, to ensure that democracy is never derailed in Pakistan. This is my assurance.

George Bush: Final question, that you'd like to call?

Pervez Musharraf: -- yes, please.

Question: This is to President Bush. During the Indian Deputy Prime Minister Advani's visit last week, there werepress reports of his claiming to have received assurances from your administration that Pakistan will not beprovided with F-16s. This contrasts sharply with the positive relationship that Pakistan currently enjoys withthe United States. The Pakistani public sets great score by the F-16s. So, Mr. President, should the Pakistanipublic believe Mr. Advani?

George Bush: Well, the --

Pervez Musharraf: You are never going to escape this.

George Bush: No, I know. (Laughter.) Let me just say -- first, let me say, the President is not afraidto bring up the issue of F-16s. He has been a strong advocate for the sale of F-16s to Pakistan. In thepackage that we discussed, the five-year, $3 billion package, half of that money goes for defense matters, ofwhich the F-16 won't be a part. Nevertheless, we want to work closely with our friend to make sure that thepackage meets the needs of the Pakistan people.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. We're honored you're here.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you.

George Bush: It's been a great meeting.

Pervez Musharraf: Thank you, Mr. President.