Washington Post
By Karin Brulliard, Monday, May 16, 9:04 AM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry arrived here late Sunday to discuss the killing of Osama bin Laden with Pakistani leaders, in meetings that could influence whether the United States continues to provide billions of dollars in aid to an ally that many in Washington believe harbors Islamist militants.
Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the most senior U.S. official to visit Pakistan since bin Laden’s death on May 2, comes as the two nations’ relationship hovers at one of its worst-ever points. He is expected to bluntly lay out the rising stakes in Washington, where some members of Congress are calling for the severance of aid to Pakistan.
Bin Laden was killed two weeks ago in a secret U.S. commando raid in Abbottabad, where he was holed up for several years in a spacious redoubt not far from Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point. While both nations have said Pakistan provided some intelligence that helped the CIA identify bin Laden’s location, the United States did not inform Pakistan about the operation, partly out of fear that Pakistani spies would compromise the plan.
Kerry referred to that distrust on Sunday in Kabul, where he was briefed on insurgent activity in Khost, an eastern province that borders the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan, from which several militant groups plan attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan. Washington has unsuccessfully pressured Pakistan’s military to take on those insurgent groups – some of which are believed to receive support from Pakistani intelligence – and the trove of materials from the bin Laden raid could provide new leverage.
“Yes, there are insurgents coming across the border,” Kerry (D-Mass.) said in Kabul. “Yes, they are operating out of North Waziristan and other areas of the sanctuaries. And yes, there is some evidence of Pakistan government knowledge of some of these activities in ways that is very disturbing. That will be without any question one of the subjects of conversation.”
Pakistan has denied knowledge of bin Laden’s whereabouts or support to militant groups.
Kerry’s name is widely associated in Pakistan with a recent U.S. assistance package meant to demonstrate a long-term strategic partnership. But with many in Washington focusing on Pakistan’s alleged collusion with insurgents, that funding is now on the line – a development Pakistanis interpret as proof of U.S. capriciousness.
Kerry met late Sunday with Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, and discussions with military and civilian leaders were expected to continue Monday.
The United States uses Pakistan as a key supply route for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s assistance is viewed as crucial to a potential negotiated end to the war there. At worst, some U.S. officials say, cutting ties with Islamabad could destabilize the government to the point that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falls into the hands of Islamists.
Pakistan, meanwhile, needs U.S. assistance to help arm its military and shore up its teetering economy. And though anti-American sentiment is rampant, Pakistan also depends on the cachet of being allied with a superpower – particularly in view of its poor relationships with its own neighbors.
“The important thing is to understand that major, significant events have taken place in last days that have a profound impact on what we have called the war on terror, a profound impact on our relationship as a result,” Kerry told reporters in the Afghan capital.
In the wake of the bin Laden killing, which has been widely portrayed here as an embarrassing violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, fury has coalesced against the United States. Public outrage initially centered on the Pakistani military and intelligence services, which then attempted to shift blame to civilian leaders. On Friday, the two formed a united front after a rare briefing by Pakistan’s top brass to the parliament, which later passed a resolution condemning the U.S. operation, demanding an end to CIA drone strikes and threatening to cut off NATO supply routes.
In a statement issued late Sunday, Kayani said he and Kerry had discussed “the intense feelings of rank and file of Pakistan Army on Abbottabad incident.” In recent days, Kayani has held a series of town-hall style meetings on the bin Laden raid at military cantonments around Pakistan.
U.S.-Pakistan tensions are likely to be further inflamed this week by the start of a terror trial in Chicago that could shed new light on Pakistan’s relationship with Islamist militants. A Chicago businessman is accused of providing financial and logistical backing to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, which were carried out by a Pakistani group, Lashkar-i-Taiba. The star witness has told investigators that the siege was financed by Pakistan’s main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI.
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