'Nothing Has Changed'

Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inam Ul Haq: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I would like to welcome Deputy Secretary of State Mr. Richard Lee Armitageto Pakistan. We have held discussions on Pakistan-U.S. bilateral relations, as well as on the situation in theregion-in particular, the situation of India-Pakistan relations. And I will leave the rest to your questionsand to the answers that the Deputy Secretary of State will provide to those questions. Thank you.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage: Thank you Mr. Minister. I was delighted to be able to engage in those discussions with you and, of course,the Minister of Interior. Just now completing a very full discussion with President Musharraf that covered thefull range of, as you suggested, bilateral relations and indeed the India-Pakistan situation.

We were honored to be back. I was able to express the best wishes of President Bush to President Musharraf.President Bush is very much looking forward to welcoming President Musharraf to New York on the twelfth ofSeptember and to continue the discussions and the relationship that they've begun to develop.

So I'll just stop there and try to answer any questions that you may have.

Question: Tahir Rathore from NNI. Mr. Armitage, what do you think …how much time can your mission take to diffusetension between India and Pakistan? And, if you'd also like to share, how much life lost by U.S. troops inAfghanistan?

Richard Armitage: I'm not sure I understood the second part; we'll come back to that.

The first part of the question: I think you should take careful note of the different circumstances thatexist now, compared to a couple of months ago when I was here. Clearly the tensions and the rhetoric aresomewhat down at present. And that is why, on this visit, I was able to engage in discussions of the fullrange of our relationship, to, of course, include the India-Pakistan situation. In that particular situation,the United States has extended its good offices and is prepared to continue to extend those good offices. Wewant the best possible future for our friends here in Pakistan and in India, and we're going to work asappropriate to bring that about.

The second part of your question was 'lives lost in Afghanistan,' sir? In what context?

QUESTION: U.S. troops. American lives.

Richard Armitage: American lives lost? I'm sorry, I don't know the answer. Did something happen today while I've been…?

Question: No, no. I mean, you have been engaged there since October last in that war against terrorism. So, what is thenumber of lives lost of U.S. troops?

Richard Armitage: I do not have the figure of lives lost of U.S. troops. I'm sorry, I just don't have it off the top of myhead.

Question: While in Delhi, you could not see the Prime Minister and the Indian Foreign Minister. Does that mean thatIndia is not showing any interest in U.S. efforts to diffuse tensions and engage in dialogue at the highestlevel to sort out this difficult problem?

Richard Armitage: No, I did not see Prime Minister Vajpayee, but I saw no indication that India wasn't intent on a continuedeffort by the United States, the continued good offices of the United States. I would note that each of thediscussions that I had in India, to include with National Security Adviser Mishra, went on for extendedlengths of time, much beyond the allotted time. So, from the United States' point of view, we were treatedsplendidly and had a full exposition of all the issues.

Question: Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press. There was a report yesterday that there was an Indian attack on aPakistani position in Kashmir. Can you verify that this attack took place? And what does it mean for yourmission?

Richard Armitage: I heard about this from press reports yesterday when I was in Delhi, and we engaged in a short discussionwhere I was exposed to the series of events from Pakistan's point of view. I think the facts on the ground arenot something that the United States can judge, particularly as I've been mostly in meetings. But I think thefacts will become clearer over time.

As regards my mission. As I said, my mission is a broad one that encompasses the full range of ourrelationship. I think any violence is regrettable, but I don't think it interferes with this mission in anyway. I think it does put an exclamation point on the need for continued good offices to be brought to bear.

Question: Huw Watkin, from AFP. A couple of related questions, if you like: earlier this week, the U.S. militarycommander in Afghanistan suggested that perhaps there were more Al-Qaida/Taliban in Pakistan than there wereremaining in the original theater of operations. So, first to ask you: what is your assessment of Pakistan'sefforts towards closing that border - Afghanistan? And, secondly, what is your understanding now, in terms ofmilitants crossing the Line of Control into Kashmir and Pakistan's efforts to prevent that?

Richard Armitage: On the first question - the efforts of our friends in Pakistan along the western border - I was able to,again, thank President Musharraf and, through President Musharraf, his very excellent army and police forces.We think they're doing a splendid job in very difficult tribal areas. In-country here, the arrests andincarcerations of Al-Qaida/Taliban, etc… is a matter of record, and we're quite delighted with theactivities and very complimentary of them.

On the question of infiltration, I can say that nothing has changed from the assurances I was given thispast June when I here. There is some obvious infiltration across the Line of Control, but our friends here inPakistan assured me that this was not something sponsored by the government of Pakistan.

Question: Mr. Secretary? Quatrina Hosain from PTV. Talking about infiltration across the Line of Control. Now, Indiasays that that is continuing. President Musharraf has said that Pakistan has done everything it can. Now, thathas become literally a precondition for talks in India's stand. So that seems to be a deadlock. Did that comeup for discussions in India? And what recommendations are likely to be made on that?

Richard Armitage: Well, as I indicated last night in Delhi, a full range of topics came up during our discussions in India, toinclude the question of cross-border infiltration. But I think no one, whether here in Pakistan or in India,feels that the government of Pakistan is solely and completely responsible for activities across the border. Ithink that, from the United States' point of view, we are concentrating on trying to bring about a situationwhere there can be a dialogue and the two parties can sit down face-to-face to speak about these matters andto resolve them together.

One more. Sir…

Question: What can you or the United States do to bring these two parties to sit across the table? Because, so far,they have got their stated positions and are not willing to talk. Pakistan says it is willing; India says thatunless this infiltration is stopped… What can you possibly do?

Richard Armitage: Well I'm tempted almost first to answer to say that the best that we can do is follow the Hippocratic oath,which is "do no harm"! But beyond that, I think our view is to make sure that, to the extentdesirable by both parties, that we accurately communicate both our views and the views of the parties. Thatwe, when requested, offer any advice. We cannot impose a solution, would not impose a solution - could notimpose a solution. Ultimately, the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the leaders of these two greatcountries. But I think, again, the use of the United States' good offices to try to bring about a bettersituation is appreciated on both sides of the question.

I thank you all very much.