CAPP Events: 2003

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CAPP Hosts Pakistani Foreign Minister and Ambassador

CAPP held a roundtable discussion at RAND's Santa Monica office on January 24, 2003 with the visiting Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. Kasuri was accompanied by Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Raana M. Rahim, Consul General of Pakistan, Akbar Zeb, Director General of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, and Shakeel Akhtar, Press Liaison from the Consulate General. Several RAND staff members, including Pardee RAND Graduate School students from Pakistan, and CAPP board members Nicholas Rockefeller and Ambassador James Hodgeson attended.

RAND Vice President Michael Rich began the session with an overview of RAND. Ambassador Qazi then provided opening remarks about the history of the U.S.-Pakistan alliance, noting that the two countries have been allies since the days of the Cold War, when their mutual interest in containing the Soviet Union fueled cooperation. He described Pakistan's efforts in the war on terrorism as a continuation of this close relationship.

Foreign Minister Kasuri then presented prepared remarks in which he stated that Pakistan is committed to the Bonn Agreement to establish democracy in Afghanistan and expressed hope that the international community's dedication to reconstruction efforts there will continue. He also emphasized Pakistan's contributions to the war on terrorism.

A lively and lengthy exchange followed. The roundtable participants discussed Pakistan's relations with India. Kasuri stated that Pakistan recognizes the need for a dialogue between the two nuclear rivals to ratchet down current tensions, particularly with regard to their dispute over Kashmir. Kasuri also described Pakistan's safeguards to ensure control of their nuclear weapons and prevent proliferation.

The group also addressed the potential effects of a U.S.-Iraq war on Pakistan, the recent addition of Pakistan to the list of countries whose citizens must register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the potential whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.