Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Pakistan: Search for Pearl Continues; President Musharraf Visits U.S.; India, Pakistan Continue to Face Off Along the Border

Aired February 13, 2002 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM MINTIER, HOST: Here in Islamabad, Pakistan, the search goes on for a missing "Wall Street Journal" reporter. President Musharraf of Pakistan goes to the United States. And India and Pakistan continue to face off along the line of control. All that and more next on LIVE FROM PAKISTAN.

ANNOUNCER: Pakistan's president comes to the White House with promising words on the fate of kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: I am reasonably sure he is alive. And I really very much hope -- we all hope that he's alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: From President Bush, praise for the Pakistani leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Musharraf is a leader with great courage and vision and his nation is a key partner in the global coalition against terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: On the streets of Islamabad, a different message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Americans have not changed. And God says they can never be our friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: And on another front, worries of war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot say that the present situation is such that there is no likelihood of war. I mean skirmishes can still take place. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM PAKISTAN, Tom Mintier.

MINTIER: Welcome to LIVE FROM PAKISTAN. Leading the top of the show tonight, the case of Daniel Pearl, a case that has frustrated investigators, one lead going to another, but really, so far, leading nowhere as far as Daniel Pearl is concerned. Now, there was word just a day ago that his release may be imminent. And now, officials are cautioning that may not be the case. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us from Karachi, where he's been following the case as its developed and all the twists and turns.

Ben, it seems that the optimism that was there yesterday is now turning to a bit of pessimism.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tom. I couldn't have put it better myself. And no leads leading nowhere.

Now, the police have had more than 24 hours to interrogate Sheikh Omar Saeed, the man, until very recently, they were describing as the ringleader, the mastermind behind the kidnapping of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. Now, they say they have been intensely grilling Mr. Saeed since almost the moment he was picked up in Lahore on Tuesday morning. But they say he has yet to offer any concrete information that could lead to the release of Daniel Pearl.

Now, you'll recall that shortly after his detention, Mr. Saeed told the police that Pearl is alive and is in Karachi. That seems to be the sum total of what they've gotten out of him. Now, police are backtracking not only down playing earlier optimism about an imminent release of Mr. Pearl but they're also downplaying Saeed's role in the kidnapping.

One senior official in Karachi, claiming that Saeed, completely contrary to what we've been told by investigators, that Saeed is just one of several prime suspects in the kidnapping. At the same time, a U.S. State Department official telling CNN that Sheikh Omar Saeed is not the -- quote -- unquote -- "level one person" in the kidnapping. So much confusion about the situation of the investigation.

Now, during the night, there were more raids in Karachi in and around the city. But those raids, Tom, don't seem to have turned up much at the moment. Back to you.

MINTIER: Ben, the people I talk to, they say that this prime suspect may have known some of the details, but as far as where Mr. Pearl is being held, that may be information that he himself even did not have, that there are several layers with walls between them to prevent from what's going on right now. Basically, if they catch the top person, allegedly at the top of this ring and it doesn't filter its way down because of the walls. They say he could be hidden in any one of several houses in Karachi and that they try to make sure that they hire this job out to someone else that can't be traced back. Is that a possibility? WEDEMAN: It's a definite possibility. Obviously, we're working with -- dealing with individual cells who are really operating on a need-to-know basis. For instance, three men were remanded into police custody a day before yesterday in Karachi. These were the men who apparently passed on the e-mails and the photographs of Pearl in captivity. Now, they didn't seem to have much information other than that. They did have some sort of contact with Sheikh Omar Saeed, but really it's very difficult to get from one level to another because there is -- it's a need-to-know basis and everybody knows only what they need to know to operate in this kidnapping -- Tom.

MINTIER: All right, Ben, I'm sure Daniel Pearl's family and colleagues are waiting for good news to come out of Karachi. We'll continue to follow that story here.

That topic was also at the top of the agenda at the White House today, as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf met with U.S. president George W. Bush. CNN's Kelly Wallace has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The one cloud hanging over Pakistani President's Musharraf's White House visit, there is still no sign of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. Mr. Musharraf told reporters Pearl's kidnapping might be in response to Pakistan's crackdown on Islamic extremists but also added this optimistic note.

MUSHARRAF: I would really very much hope -- we all hope that he's alive. About getting him released -- well, let me say, we are as close as possible to getting him released.

WALLACE: Mr. Bush praised the Pakistani leader for his efforts to locate Pearl and thanked him for his help in the campaign against terror.

BUSH: President Musharraf is a great leader with great courage and vision.

WALLACE: The president is looking for Pakistan's continued support. And so, Mr. Musharraf got the royal treatment, an oval office visit, a military welcome at the Pentagon and a meeting on Capitol Hill with lawmakers. What the Pakistani president came looking for was financial assistance to silence anti-American critics at home. He got some help to erase $1 billion of his country's debt and promises of more economic aid, but no resumption of arms transfers just yet. The Pakistani leader said he was not disappointed.

MUSHARRAF: The relationship does not end today or it does not end with my visit. We have decided to cooperate.

WALLACE: Mr. Musharraf also came to encourage the president to mediate the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. But Mr. Bush won't do that unless India also calls for such a move.

BUSH: The best thing our government can do is to encourage there to be a -- to come to the table and start to have meaningful, real dialog and that's what we'll continue to press for.

WALLACE (on camera): Such a whirlwind state visit for the Pakistani president would have been unthinkable before September 11. After all, Mr. Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999. But the diplomatic rounds, a sign of the growing relationship between the two leaders and how each needs the other to accomplish his goals.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MINTIER: The kidnapping of Daniel Pearl may be in response to the moves he took on January 12 when he cracked down on extremism here in Pakistan. Mr. Musharraf has made efforts since the September 11 incident to improve the relations with the United States, a move that is being seen on both sides as something very positive and the moves that have taken afterwards to build the relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MINTIER (voice-over): This may the most visible change in Pakistan, the presidential honor guard is getting lots of work. Since September 11, Pakistani President Musharraf gets more visitors than ever before. The ceremonial band is also working overtime and getting lots of experience with a difficult-to-play song.

BALEEM BOKHARI, SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE NEWS": Before September 11, he was a bad guy. Nobody was willing to come and allow him to play host. But after September 11, the way he acted, the policies he pursued, that made him a good host.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's my pleasure to see you, sir. Thank you very much.

MINTIER: A host who world leaders are no longer afraid to be sitting next to. British Prime Minister Tony Blair came to Islamabad, not once, but twice, so, too, the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. During his second visit, he praised on the Pakistani leader.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: President Musharraf's willingness to take on terrorists and their organizations shows courage and leadership.

MINTIER: In an interview with CNN, I asked the president if he could envision being invited to the White House before September 11.

MUSHARRAF: Yes, that would have been difficult, maybe not, yes.

MINTIER: During our conversation, Mr. Musharraf told me that Pakistan felt, in his words, left high and dry, after the anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, when the United States left the area and relations turned chilly. Now, he says things are different.

MUSHARRAF: And the United States also has realized that they need to remain involved here and that they need to be committed with us for all the support that we have given. MINTIER: The new environment definitely has an agenda, a shopping list, if you will, for military hardware. On the eve of his trip to the United States, Mr. Musharraf made no secret of his desires.

MUSHARRAF: I look forward -- Pakistan looks forward to its normalization of our relations, especially all sort of military relations in the field of trading and in the field of military sales.

MINTIER: However, guns, tanks and spare parts may not be as high on the list as economic assistance.

SHAWKAT AZIZ, PAKISTAN FINANCE MINISTER: I guess our friends will be more understanding and they will contribute to Pakistan getting more market access. They'll contribute to Pakistan getting more investment and donor money because a stable Pakistan is good for the region and good for the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MINTIER: While the relationship seems to be blooming, there are some who don't want to see it happen. CNN's Islamabad's bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi takes a look at the skeptics and the optimists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QURAISHI (voice-over): Here in the tea stalls of Islamabad, crowds gather at lunchtime for a bite to eat. This spot attracts people from all over the city, sharing interesting conversation over a strong cup of tea. Today's topic, whether Pakistan and the United States are truly friends.

"This is not a real friendship," he says. "This is a temporary friendship. I am 52 years old and in my lifetime, I have not seen true friendship between Pakistan and America."

Mulick Oransab (ph), a retired pharmacist who lived in Saudi Arabia for 15 years, says he and his companions are skeptical about what's going on between Islamabad and Washington.

"A person's nature cannot change," he says. "From birth to death, a person's nature says the same. The Americans have not changed. And God says they can never be our friends."

At the foot of a tree just on the other side of the courtyard, sits shoe repairman, Mohammed Omar. Every day for the last 16 years, he has come to this spot to fix shoes. And he says he'll still be in this spot far longer than the U.S. and Pakistan remain friends.

"This friendship will last 10 days," he tells us, "a month maybe. This is not a real friendship."

Along with the skeptics also come the optimists, those who say President Pervez Musharraf is the best thing that's happened to Pakistan in quite some time and that better relations with the U.S. are long overdo. "The only people against this new friendship are foolish people," he tells us. "This is a good decision. Everything Musharraf has done for the country has been in its best interest."

Still, just as easy as it is to find strong opinions over strong cups of tea, there are those who say things are not as black and white as some may think.

"Nothing is permanent," he tells us. "Every country has to look out for its own best interest and change its relationships with other governments accordingly. Right now, America needs us, so, they are supporting us. We should take advantage of that and project a positive image of Pakistan."

(on-camera): Whatever Pakistan's national interests, everyone we spoke with acknowledges that things have changed. Just over a year ago, President Bush was embarrassed in a television interview for not being able to name the president of Pakistan. Today, he sits across from that military leader as a partner and perhaps, to share a cup of tea -Tom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MINTIER: In a moment, worries of war between India and Pakistan, but first, two skirmishes in the battle against terrorism. Authorities in Yemen s a suspected member of the al Qaeda network blew himself up with a hand grenade after being cornered by security forces. Police say he apparently was trying to throw the grenade at the security forces, but it apparently went off in his hand. The man is believed to be the brother-in-law of one of the September 11 hijackers and he was linked to October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

And in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in southern Afghanistan, a group of attackers opened fire at the airport overnight. U.S. troops responded with machine gun and Apache helicopters. The U.S. Central Command says the attackers used only small arms to fire at the airport and the attack was -- quote -- "ineffective." No members of the U.S. military were injured.

In a moment, we'll look at the flash point in the region. It's a single word. It's called Kashmir. We'll be right back.

ANNOUNCER: Next, fears that skirmishes could turn into all-out war between two countries with nuclear weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did come very close to war in January.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM PAKISTAN returns in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Two of these wars were waged over the disputed region of Kashmir.

MINTIER: The relationship between India and Pakistan has always been chilly, but it went into the deep freeze after December 13. That's the date of an attack on the parliament in New Delhi. Now, this attack was supposedly over Kashmir. Now CNN's New Delhi bureau chief Satinder Bindra is in Kashmir and has the report on the situation there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Artillery exchanges between India and Pakistan who have already fought two wars over the disputed region of Kashmir are considered routine by soldiers on both sides. But for Washington, already concerned about 800,000 Indian and Pakistani troops eyeing each other suspiciously across the border, even a minor incident can unleash fears of another war.

Now, new information reveals such U.S. concerns are well founded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we did come very close to war in January.

BINDRA: General (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mollack (ph) retired as India's chief of Army staff. In 1999, troops commanded by General Mollack (ph) fought a 50-day border conflict with Pakistani intruders encroaching onto Indian territory.

Then General Mollack (ph) calculates India was days away from a full-scale war. In January this year, when New Delhi moved its forces to the border, after blaming Pakistan-based militants for attacking its parliament, General Mollack (ph) says India was -- quote -- "just hours away from war."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know human beings are human beings. If their limit of tolerance is crossed, then he says, OK, for heaven's sake, let's sort it out.

BINDRA: Despite international calls for restraint, India has just signed a deal with Russia for nuclear-capable bombers. This recent test of a nuclear-capable missile, say military strategists, is another warning. New Delhi will not tolerate any more attacks from Pakistan-based militants, fighting to end Indian rule in the disputed region of Kashmir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot say that the present situation is such that there is no likelihood of war. I mean skirmishes can still take place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MINTIER: That's CNN Satinder Bindra reporting from Indian controlled Kashmir. Now, Kashmir has been on the agenda here for a long time and it may have been at the top of the agenda as President Musharraf visited Washington for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush. We'll try to sort all that out and what it really means as for far as the rest of the world when we come here on LIVE FROM PAKISTAN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: It's time for you to participate. What effect will improved U.S. and Pakistan relations have on the region? More stability, less stability? To take the quick vote, head to CNN.com. For AOL users, the keyword is CNN. A reminder, this online poll is not scientific.

MINTIER: The political situation in South Asia is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, only the pieces are highly explosive. Joining us now to try to sort out the landscape is Rifaat Hussain.

Rifaat, a lot of people have been saying that this kidnapping of the journalist was done by India, was done by elements within the -- the extremist elements within Pakistan. It had to be a major embarrassment for President Musharraf to go to the White House when he had trade issues at the top of his agenda and ended up talking about Daniel Pearl.

RIFAAT HUSSAIN, QUAID-E-AZAN UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, regardless of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) as to how and why this kidnapping took place, but the fact remains that this -- a fact, the character of Musharraf's visit to Washington -- most simply, both sides did not let the agenda of Pakistan be too much affected by the kidnapping. And I think both sides have handled it very well because it was discussed on the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), by the two sides. But despite that, they have not allowed it to become the lens to which Musharraf's visit to Washington will be viewed.

MINTIER: Now, this visit would have been extremely difficult seven, eight, nine months ago. I asked President Musharraf a couple of weeks ago, "Could you envision being invited to the White House by George Bush before September 11?"

HUSSAIN: No, I would -- nobody had actually heard of that. Pakistan had come under all sorts of national sanctions, but now, all the sanctions have gone and President Musharraf is looking very good. In fact, he has now evoked a very positive response for his leadership, for his personal leadership, his courage and for the reform agenda that he's trying to implement...

MINTIER: What about the crackdown of extremists here? One expected to see a backlash. Is this kidnapping part of that backlash?

HUSSAIN: Well, this is definitely the view that the Musharraf government has taken. And I think it has -- if you look at the timing, and it involves an American, it involves "The Wall Street Journal" and the kind of charges that the kidnappers have leveled against him, that he's a spy, and something like that, which means that it was definitely aimed at the United States and at Musharraf because of this anti-terrorism fight.

MINTIER: On the agenda for the meetings at the White House, Mr. Musharraf wanted movement by the United States on the issue of textiles. Eight-six percent of all exports from Pakistan to the United States are what we're wearing now. Was he successful? What are the chances of success?

HUSSAIN: Well, I think we have to wait until the visit is over. I think you will have some of these things reflected in the joint statement that one expects will be issued at the conclusion of the visit. And our commerce ministers is there, our finance minister is there and they are really working on some of these issues.

MINTIER: Very quickly, the future of Pakistan/U.S. relations. There was a walkway, if you will, after the Afghan war. Is there concern here that that'll happen again?

HUSSAIN: Well, I think that at least at the level of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that's a concern and that's a concern that was addresses by President George Bush yesterday when he said that, you know, "I am personally committed to supporting Pakistan in the direction in which Musharraf wants the country to go."

MINTIER: All right, Mr. Rifaat Hussain, thank you very much.

So everyone is watching to see what fruit comes from this meeting in Washington between the Pakistani and the U.S. president. Everyone waiting to see if the United States will get involved in Kashmir and possibly mediate or help to mediate, bring the two sides together to at least talk and find a solution to the flash point here. One of those explosive parts of the jigsaw puzzle may be put into place starting with this visit.

That's it for LIVE FROM PAKISTAN. Coming up next, for our domestic viewers, "THE POINT." For our international viewers, back to regular programming. Thank you for joining us, I'm Tom Mintier.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com