A congressional delegation led by Sen. Ben Cardin met with Pakistan?s president and new prime minister in Islamabad on Monday, and Cardin came away encouraged by the new tougher military stance toward insurgents on the border with Afghanistan, who had been attacking U.S. operations.
“We were pleased to see that the government has taken a changed attitude,” Cardin told The Examiner in a late-night phone interview from Astana, Kazakhstan, where he is attending meetings of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission). “They are showing some resolve in regard to the border. It?s an area that we need to get in much better control.”
He and four members of Congress on the commission ? two Democrats and two Republicans ? traveled to Pakistan for the day and met with President Pervez Musharraf and newly elected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani along with U.S. diplomats.
In the past week, the new government has launched attacks on extremists connected to the Taliban and al Qaeda, after initially attempting to negotiate peace deals with the insurgents. The U.S. military has recently reported a 40 percent surge in attacks on its forces in eastern Afghanistan bordering the mountainous tribal areas, according to The Associated Press.
Musharraf?s power has been diluted by the election of the fragile coalition government, but Cardin said the U.S. representatives and diplomats were impressedthat the president was offering a common front with the new government.
But Cardin said the new government ? while moderate and democratically elected ? still had to prove itself in confronting what the U.S. sees as the two major issues for Pakistan: The security issues on its border, which has been used a safe haven to al Qaeda, and instituting economic reforms.
“The jury is out on how this government will act,” Cardin said.
