US think tank report faults Pakistani military

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) Pakistan bears responsibility for worsening security in South Asia, and its powerful military is the core of the problem, according to a study by a US think tank.

Frederic Grare of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading scholar on South Asia and former French diplomat in Pakistan, took a tough line yesterday on the military that has dominated Pakistani politics since 1958.

His report was endorsed by two other experts, Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution and George Perkovich of Carnegie.

Grare recommended that in addition to providing billions of dollars in aid, the United States should also be willing to impose sanctions when Islamabad fails to meet its commitments, as he said it has done in key areas.

''This report makes the case that the Pakistani state bears responsibility for the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban, terrorism in Kashmir and the growth of jihadi ideology and capabilities internationally,'' Grare wrote.

''At the core of the problem is the Pakistani military...,'' the study said.

''Pakistan's military leaders have mobilized religious parties, militants, foreign 'freedom fighters,' and other players to get and keep national power and resources,'' it added.

Grare called for a new U.S. strategy designed to encourage Pakistanis, and especially the military, to restore civilian government according to the country's constitution.

The United States considers Pakistan and President Pervez Musharraf to be key allies in the U.S.-led war on terrorism but increasingly U.S. officials are questioning whether they are doing enough.

The United States and many Pakistanis have urged Musharraf, who is also army chief of staff and seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, to give up his military post and run for re-election as a civilian. But his intentions are unclear.

At a briefing, Grare acknowledged that any change in U.S.

strategy will have risks and ''there are a lot of reasons to be skeptical'' about the return of civilians to power in Pakistan.

Still, he argued: ''Breaking the links between the military and politics (in Pakistan) is a strategic imperative.'' Cohen, who wrote a book on Pakistan, called Grare's report ''excellent'' and said the trend from moderation to radicalism in Pakistan has accelerated in the past year and is so worrying it should be discussed by NATO and with China and India.

Two Pakistanis at the briefing, one a diplomat and the other who identified himself as a former military officer, objected to the report's conclusions and defended the Musharraf government.

Reuters PDS VP0620