The US government should prepare a 'contingency plan' for Pakistan in case Musharraf regime falls because of presence of nuclear weapons there, a top opposition lawmaker has said.
WASHINGTON: The US government should prepare a 'contingency plan' for Pakistan in case Pervez Musharraf regime falls because of presence of nuclear weapons there, a top opposition lawmaker has said while warning that the Islamic country was in for 'a very rough period'.
Democrat Jane Harman, who is in the House Intelligence Panel, said, "more could have been done" to prevent the bombing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's motorcade that killed nearly 140 people last week.
"She could have had jammers to prevent these IEDs from going off. And Pakistan's in for a very rough period, and so is the world," the Congresswoman from California said on CNN's 'Late Edition'
Harman said Musharraf "is in a weak point," and his election and the way it was brought about "may not have been the best idea".
"And I think the US would be wise -- and I trust we are doing this -- to have contingency plans in the area, especially because should he fall, there are nuclear weapons there," she said.
The Democrat also expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan's tribal areas infested by the Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
"The tribal areas of Pakistan, which he (Musharraf) really has no control over, are now the new staging ground or maybe the old staging ground for al Qaeda. We know that Westerners are training there. It is truly a worrisome situation. "
However, Harman disagreed that Musharraf was doing "what's necessary" to rein in extremists saying the deal he made with tribals "was a colossal strategic mistake" for him.
"And he (Musharraf) puts surviving in power ahead of doing the right thing. And I think it will come back to haunt all of us," Harman said.
"And the fact that we have not caught Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri six years after 9/11 means two things -- one, it means we took our eye off the ball and got bogged down in Iraq, but number two, it means that Musharraf has been a very crafty fellow, and has not protected them particularly, but protected himself in a way that made it very hard for us to get the job done," she said.
Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra, also on the intelligence panel, said the restive tribal region "is the planning and the training ground for radical jihadists in their worldwide threat to the United States" and were causing instability in Afghanistan.
"....we should be very worried about what's happening in Pakistan. Not that it means that it's on a path to an imminent collapse, but Pakistan is critical in us being successful in taking out and defeating radical Islamists and al Qaeda.
"You know, the plots that we have seen in the U.K., their roots come out of these tribal areas. This is a real threat. We need a strong, stable government in Pakistan that is willing and able to assist us in rooting out this threat,"
Defending Musharraf, Hoekstra said the General sees the threat, not only of radical jihadists to the West, but also to his own government and the stability of Pakistan and wants to do "what's necessary".
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}