Pakistan and the United States are close to reaching an understanding on highly sensitive issues, including the militant groups operating and hiding in tribal areas in Pakistan, a news report said Saturday. “There have been detailed discussions on the mechanics of what needs to be done in this regard,” officials close to the negotiations admit, according to a report appearing in the leading English daily The News. The talks with President Bush, Condoleezza Rice and US military generals focussed on how Jihadi Lashkars thriving in Pakistan with their leaders, including ex-Lashkar Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and Jaish Mohammad leader Maulana Azhar Masood, could be put out of business. Pakistan understands the US concerns but since the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leadership is new and is still trying to get full civilian control over the secret agencies and their sponsors in the civil and military establishment, a perception of not being able to deliver on key issues has developed, insiders say. Although President Asif Zardari is in New York for the UN General Assembly, his talks with the US officials have assumed a far greater significance as there appears to be serious negotiations going on to defuse the tensions on the Pak-Afghan border and to remove the US apprehensions about Pakistan's sincerity in dealing with the Jihadis. Top US leaders are involved in several meetings of Zardari and his team with Condoleezza Rice, Zalmay Khalilzad, US Army commanders and Pakistan's National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. Mahmood Durrani. A diplomatic source claimed that Zardari's meetings with Bush and Rice largely eased the pressure on Pakistan because the White House had been convinced that given time and space, the PPP leadership will deliver on matters where General Pervez Musharraf and his team double-crossed the Americans. “Memos have been sent by the White House to all departments that Pakistanis are to be helped,” the source said, saying the first manifestation of this change in the US attitude was a direct offer by the World Bank president to Zardari of almost $2.3 billion in aid. This was in sharp contrast to the meeting of the same president of the World Bank with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani a few weeks ago during his US visit in which he had nothing to offer but only criticism, the source said. The World Bank looks at the mood of the White House before making critical decisions and its mood suddenly appears to have changed, sources in the Pakistani camp claim. Pressure from New Delhi and Kabul has eased because of the Zardari meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Karzai, the same source said. With India, the composite dialogue is back on track and a three-month deadline has been agreed and announced to jumpstart all the tracks which were frozen during the Musharraf regime. Likewise, agreement on opening trade routes will help boost the trade and business sectors as the Pakistani business community has been demanding for years that land trade routes should be opened, giving both importers and exporters a tremendous cost advantage in greatly reduced shipping costs. Over 2,000 items will now be bought and sold via the ground route, saving millions in shipping costs. With Afghanistan, Pakistani sources say, the special handling of Karzai by Zardari has softened him and with key US mediators playing their role, Afghanistan is now ready to make honest efforts to reduce tensions with Pakistan. A source said Pakistan has accepted the US offer of military training in the fight against Al-Qaeda. __
