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American Morning
America Strikes Back: Interview of Shamshad Ahmad, Pakistani UN Ambassador
Aired October 08, 2001 - 09:09 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The protests are expected to continue, and perhaps grow even larger. So the question is how far should Pakistan go in helping the United States in the war on terrorism?
Shamshad Ahmad is our guest this morning. He is Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations.
Welcome back.
SHAMSHAD AHMAD, PAKISTAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Morning.
ZAHN: How concerned are you about these protests? We have just been told that at least one person was killed by a stray bullet. At least 26 have been hurt so far.
AHMAD: I think first of all I should say that, like the rest of the world, our reaction has also been one of regret at this development, regret because diplomacy has failed, and a military operation became inevitable. And as the president of Pakistan announced the very clearly today, we hope that this operation will not last too long -- it will be sharp, and targeted, targeted only to realize the aims that have been identified in the United Nations Security Council resolutions -- and once this operation is over, then a serious effort will be made to facilitate the process of involving indigenous Afghan political dispensation in Afghanistan, from within.
And about the reaction in Pakistan, I think the president also made it very clear that there is a small minority; like everywhere else in the world, there are people who differ with the policies of governments, and I think one should give credit to the government in Pakistan that despite all these difficulties, we have not curtailed or curbed civil liberties and the rights of people to come out in the streets.
ZAHN: How concerned are you that they will grow and more people will be hurt and killed?
AHMAD: Basically, one should keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of the people of Pakistan support the policies and decisions of the government.
ZAHN: What do you say to the analysts who suggest that these military attacks are exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted, that the collation is playing straight into his hands, that what he is trying to do is further impact the Islamic fundamentalists who already hate the West and drive a bigger gulf between the west and followers of Islam?
AHMAD: Paula, I shall leave this question to be answered by scholars, analysts, and historians.
ZAHN: But certainly, you have a feeling about this.
AHMAD: Well, yes, that is why I...
ZAHN: This helps create a larger divide, does it not?
AHMAD: At the very beginning, I said that military action is never a preferred course of action. And that is why we have always preferred diplomacy, and diplomatic engagement, and in Pakistan, we have done our best through diplomatic engagement. Last time, you were asking me why were we maintaining diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime. This exactly was the purpose, that we wanted to remain engaged with the government in Afghanistan.
ZAHN: Are those contacts the same now in the wake of the attacks?
AHMAD: No, things have changed.
ZAHN: The coalition has used Pakistani airspace. Do you still have the same nature of the relationship with the Taliban spokesperson.
AHMAD: I don't think that in terms of the qualitative strength of the diplomatic relations the situation is the same. We had withdrawn all members of our mission from Kabul, and now there is only the essential number of embassy personnel in Pakistan, who are, in a way, serving as a window to the outside world so that the outside world can communicate with the people in Afghanistan. Not really that, but also to coordinate; it is very necessary to coordinate the humanitarian relief that is required for the people of Afghanistan.
ZAHN: Can you help clarify what President Musharraf said earlier today about the Northern Alliance not taking advantage of these airstrikes? Is he making it clear to the world that he does not want the Northern Alliance to assume leadership if a power vacuum is created by these military strikes and the Taliban goes down? Is that is what he said?
AHMAD: I had yes, what he said was that we are primarily interested in peace, stability, and the unity of Afghanistan. And the Northern Alliance -- essentially, you should understand the reality of the Northern Alliance. It is a small group of mujahideen who were, basically, with a government in Afghanistan from 1992 until 1994.
ZAHN: But the coalition is helping them now.
AHMAD: And then they were pushed out of Kabul. They are now concentrated in a small area in the north of Afghanistan. So they have, yes, a few thousand people but that is why they control only 1 1/2 provinces out of 32 provinces in Afghanistan. So that is what our president said.
ZAHN: Do you have a problem with the coalition helping them out?
AHMAD: No. The president said that eventual political dispensation must be broad based, must be multiethnic, must be representative of all of Afghanistan segments of society, and must be commensurate with the demographic realities. The president clearly said that Pashtuns are 50 percent to 60 percent of the Afghan population, and Tajiks are mostly the Northern Alliance, which represents Tajik population, about 15 percent, 14 percent.
So I think all these aspects have to be kept in mind, and it is very important that the Northern Alliance is not allowed to take any advantage of the current situation of Afghanistan, because, for us, any political dispensation that emerges in Afghanistan is very important, very crucial to Pakistan security.
ZAHN: Mr. Ambassador, as always, good to have you with us on the air. We appreciate your time.
AHMAD: Thank you very much.
ZAHN: You didn't even get cut off by the president today. The last time we interviewed you, we had to cut you off by a member of the U.S. administration.
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