U.S.-India ties a "zero-sum game" for Pakistan: Hillary

Pakistan has viewed successive partnerships between India and the United States as a “zero-sum game” and always asked, “So are you our friend or are you their friend?” according to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who made rare, candid comments on Pakistan’s India-centric perspectives on possible outcomes in Afghanistan. The Secretary was especially pressed by the Committee Chairman John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, to explain why, despite $2.8 billion being channelled into Pakistan last year, “there is clear evidence that their intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, is assisting and funding a terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba; and that is inconsistent with our laws.” Ms. Clinton responded by painting a picture of the complex web of inter-relationships between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. With its focus on the Durand Line, Ms. Clinton said, Pakistan “has in the past invested in a certain amount of instability in Afghanistan,” and it also feared Afghanistan might become a “satellite of India,” given that India and Afghanistan had a historical affinity. the Indians aren't going to sit around and accept that.” Noting that other groups such as the Uzbeks and the Tajiks would also be unwilling to accept such an arrangement, Ms. Clinton made a strong push for a strategy that focused on building up capacity within Afghanistan so that it was “strong enough to defend itself against all comers, but without falling back into civil war, because particularly the Northern Alliance constituents believe that they are threatened by Pakistan and the Pashtuns.” Touching upon the U.S.’ engagement with India in this regard, the Secretary said that the State Department was “working very hard on our strategic partnership,” and it was “fair to say” that India believed that Pakistan’s continuing support for elements of insurgency against India in Kashmir made it very difficult for Indians to know which path of engagement to choose.