US to issue 'tough' message to Musharraf on Al Qaeda

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush has decided to send an unusually tough message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally in the war against terror, warning him that Congress could cut aid to Islamabad unless it is more aggressive in hunting down Al Qaeda militants, senior Administration officials were quoted as saying on Monday.

The decision came after the White House concluded that General Musharraf is failing to live up to commitments he made to Bush during a visit here in September, leading US daily 'The New York Times' reported.

Musharraf had insisted then that a peace deal he struck with tribal leaders in areas bordering Afghanistan would not diminish the hunt for the leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban or their training camps.

Now, American intelligence officials have concluded that the terrorist infrastructure is being rebuilt, and that while Pakistan has attacked some camps, its overall effort has flagged, it said.

"He's made a number of assurances over the past few months, but the bottom line is that what they are doing now is not working," one senior administration official who deals often with South Asian issues said late last week. "The message we're sending to him now is that the only thing that matters is results."

Democrats, who took control of Congress last month, have urged the White House to put greater pressure on Pakistan because of statements from American commanders that units based in Pakistan that are linked to the Taliban are increasing their attacks into Afghanistan.

For the time being, officials said, the White House has ruled out unilateral strikes against the training camps that American spy satellites are monitoring in North Waziristan, in Pakistans tribal areas on the border.

The fear is that such strikes would result in what one administration official referred to as a 'shock to the stability' of Musharraf's government, the paper said.

The spread of Al Qaeda in the tribal areas threatens to undermine a central element of Bush's argument that he is succeeding in the administrations effort to curb terrorism, it said.

Congressional Democrats have threatened to review military assistance and other aid to Pakistan unless they see evidence of aggressive attacks on Al Qaeda.

The House last month passed a measure linking future military aid to White House certification that Pakistan 'is aking all possible efforts to prevent the Taliban from operating in areas under its sovereign control.'

Pakistan is now the fifth-largest recipient of American aid. Bush has proposed $785 million in aid to Islamabad in his new budget, including $300 million in military aid to help Pakistan combat Islamic radicalism in the country.

"We think the Pakistani aid is at risk in Congress," said the senior official, who declined to speak on the record because the subject involved intelligence matters.